Kender Goddess: War of Creation
by Kender Bard
Summary: The sequel to Kender Goddess. Tasslehoff and Dreamflight Burrfoot race across Ansalon as all of the world is out to capture them to appease Takhisis and Chaos. Will they find a way to thwart the plan of the gods?
1. Chapter I: On the Run

Kender Goddess: War of Creation  
  
A/N: Read Kender Goddess before you read this.  
  
Tasslehoff and Dreamflight Burrfoot had been traveling for an agonizingly long time. At least, to a kender it was long. They had seen nothing but the bleak landscape around them for far too long.  
"Where are we?" Dreamflight asked, her throat parched as their water supply had run out. "This doesn't feel like we're heading towards Neraka." Tasslehoff pulled a map from his pouches and conferred it, studying intensely. With a smile, he rerolled and slipped it back into a pouch.  
"We're almost there," he announced. "It's been, oh, a week?" Dreamflight nodded wearily, suddenly halting and leaning against her staff.  
"I'm so tired," she murmured, swaying back and forth. "When we get to Neraka, there won't be anyone kind enough to give us food and shelter. We'll have to be on our toes at all times." Tas waited patiently until she began walking again before resuming the conversation.  
"I don't think we'll be getting a warm reception anywhere," he pointed out. "We're wanted by Chaos."  
"And Takhisis," Dreamflight amended. She sighed again. "Are you sure there's no hospitable spots from between Sanction and Neraka?" Tasslehoff brought up his mental map again. He saw a spot in his mind and began to form a plan.  
"It'll take us longer, and we'll have to go around Neraka, but just beyond it is Godshome," he answered. "Is that of any help?" Relief flashed across her face and she nodded, wearily.  
"It's great help," she sighed softly, smiling a little. "Good thinking, Tas." Tas beamed in pleasure. By now, the sun was setting and they could soon stop to rest for the night. Dreamflight marched closer to Tas, confiding to him in softer tones, "It's really strange; we haven't seen anyone sense we left Sanction." Tas shrugged.  
"If what you say is true and it really is a time of war, then that shouldn't be surprising," he replied. "Most humans prefer to stay at home so some dragon doesn't breathe doom on their heads. Though I never saw the point in that. Dragon breath weapons can go through almost anything, so I don't see how being cooped up in a city would help matters any. Out here, at least we could try to hide." Dreamflight shook her head, rubbing her temples.  
"We don't need to worry about dragons," she sighed. "There aren't any." Tas halted, grabbing Dreamflight by the arm to stop her as well.  
"No dragons? How can there be no dragons?" he asked, completely stupefied. "There have always been dragons."  
"On Krynn," Dreamflight countered. "That is one more difference on Seler. There are no dragons." Tasslehoff's mind slid into the horrified category.  
"Then how will we protect ourselves from this bug invasion?" he blurted. "Admittedly, with no bad dragons around, that's a plus for us, but we have no defenses now!" Dreamflight laughed weakly, shortly.  
"Don't be silly," she giggled. "There are always defenses." Tasslehoff resumed walking. He had never taken much of an interest in the strategy of war. If he got tossed into a battle here and there, that was all fine. There was a certain thrill to be found in a good battle. But he did know enough to understand that the good dragons had been crucial in the winning of the War of the Lance. And besides – dragons were awesome creatures. He held a tight of admiration for them. And now, there were none?  
"What could possibly replace a dragon?" Tas wondered aloud. Dreamflight smiled knowingly to herself.  
"You shall see," she promised. "You shall see... Look, its dusk. Can we stop yet?" Tasslehoff eyed her over critically.  
"Are you in pain?" he asked. "Dizzy? Sick? We'll stop now if you need to. Otherwise, we should keep going." Dreamflight looked almost mournfully at Tasslehoff.  
"Please," she begged. "Please, let us stop?" Tasslehoff sighed, slumping down to the ground, and nodded. She slumped gratefully. After the two had situated themselves into a more comfortable position, Dreamflight spoke up again. "Tas, you've changed." He looked at her inquiringly. "I can't say how... But you have... And I'm sorry." Tasslehoff smiled and hugged her close.  
"There's no need to apologize," he assured her. "We're in this together." Dreamflight nodded, sipping modestly from her water skin. As the stars came out to dot the night sky, Dreamflight lay back and gazed at them with a look of homesickness in her eyes. Tas snuggled close to her, watching.  
"Do you miss it there?" he asked softly. "What's it like?" Dreamflight smiled faintly to herself, toying with the feather tied to one of her pouches.  
"It is whatever the diety wants it to be," she stated. "Paladine's realm is full of light, blinding almost... But once you see past the light, it is a modest, simple place. Pleasant for resting in, but not one I'd care to stay. Gilean's is worse, as it resembles Astinus's library to an uncanny amount. Takhisis..." She paused and glanced at Tas. "Well, you remember that..." Tas shuddered. He did, and he regretted it. Dreamflight patted his hand comfortingly.  
"What of the other gods?" he inquired. Dreamflight smiled traced out Branchala's constellation in the sky.  
"I didn't visit the lesser gods often," she admitted. "But I did frequent Branchala's realm. There... It's quite beautiful... It's a cozy little home, tucked into the side of a hill... He has a small fishpond just near that... It looks quite beautiful. Inside, lining the walls of his home, are all the instruments imaginable. Music flows from the air itself, and there's always room to dance." She sighed softly and shut her eyes. Tasslehoff felt an odd pang as he, too, remembered his home and the home of Solace. "But, I traded it all to be here with you, and I would do it again." Her hand briefly touched her stomach. "And again and again..." Tasslehoff smiled, holding her close.  
"Someday, we'll find peace, and then we can spend all the time in the world visiting friends and seeking out new, uncharted areas," he vowed. "We'll never have anything to worry about." Dreamflight smiled sleepily to herself, entranced by the visages in her head. She didn't see the shadows being cast over their tiny encampment, or hear the patter of many fast feet... 


	2. Chapter II: Transportation

Tasslehoff watched the sky, tracing his favorite constellations in the sky. In one arm Dreamflight slept peacefully, and, briefly, Tas found peace in the mayhem that had been his life for the past few months.  
"I wonder how long it will last," he sighed softly to himself. Finding the conversation with himself to be comforting, he continued. "I mean, I love all this running around, personally. And those bugs are simply fascinating. I'd like to know more about them. Such as, how many are poisonous? Do they come in different varieties? It's a whole new species for me to explore and such. The fact that they're trying to apprehend my family is a little annoying, though. But I don't quite like this being shunned business. I don't think I've done anything to deserve being shunned." He sighed again. "People's hearts aren't as open as they used to be."  
"A sad storrrry," a voice creaked behind him. Tas rolled away and jumped up, facing the intruder. Before him was a giant centipede, slithering like a snake. "Allow me to end yourrrr trrrroubles." Dreamflight had begun to stir, rubbing her eyes and glancing about.  
"Tas?" she asked, perplexed. "What's wrong?" She turned around, receiving a jab with a long, wiry antenna that was razor sharp at the ends. Blood oozed down from the scratch on her thigh and she scrambled to get away. The centipede lashed out, trying to snatch her up in its furling appendages, but Tasslehoff's hoopak interceded as he thrust it between the two. Angry, the centipede took hold of the hoopak and lifted it up, Tas along with it. Dreamflight jumped up, trying to pull him back down, and missed. Frowning in frustration, seeing her staff was too far away to retrieve and attack in the time she had, she resorted to the next best thing. She snatched up a rock the size of her fist and heaved it.  
Whether it was luck or aim, the rock hit true to its mark, striking the insect square on the head. It made an odd smashing sound and the centipede collapsed, dropping Tas. Dreamflight checked him over for injury.  
"I'm just sore," he winced, reaching out and tying her skirt around the cut in her leg. We'll get that fixed soon. Dreamflight poked and prodded at the centipede, nearly jumping a mile as it moved a bit.  
"It's still alive," she declared. There was an uneasy silence as the two waited for it to jump up and resume attacking. When it didn't, Tas pulled himself and looked hard at the insect.  
"I have an idea," he finally said, at length. "I'm not sure it'll work. I'd always wanted to try it with a dragon but they were, well, big. And while this centipede is big too, it's big in just the right way." Dreamflight tilted her head, listening intently. "First, we'll need some rope…" As Tas went into detail with his plan, Dreamflight smirked and nodded. The two gathered what they needed and advanced on the unconscious insect, mischievous grins spreading wryly on their faces…  
When the centipede awoke it already knew something was wrong. Somewhere in its deeply rooted insect instincts it was telling it that all its legs were not supposed to be hogtied. Standing before him and looking rather triumphant were the two kender.  
"Untie me!" the centipede snarled. Dreamflight shook her head and poked at his sides with her staff. The centipede clicked threateningly.  
"First, you're going to answer us some questions," she declared. The bug was silent. "And if you don't, you'll feel this god's wrath, and it won't be pretty. I'm not sure if you bugs keep in contact but I buried three of your scorpion buddies in a tomb of rock. That pales in comparison to what I can do when I actually think about it first." The insect squirmed a bit. "First question. What is your name? Assuming you all have names…"  
"Crrrrrotus," it answered in a bug mutter. Dreamflight smiled.  
"You see, this isn't so hard!" Tas eyed Crotus thoughtfully.  
"Alright, Crrrrrotus, next question," he declared. "What were you going to do when you caught us?" Crotus took a small amount of joy in describing, in detail, how he was going to rend the two kender completely helpless and drag them across Ansalon by ropes to his master, Chaos. The reaction had not been the one he was looking for.  
"Wow," Dreamflight whispered, her eyes wide with fancy. "Imagine that. Being dragged along Ansalon! I wonder if my arms would rip out of their sockets first or if my body would be shredded."  
"At least we wouldn't have to walk," Tas countered cheerfully. "And after the first hundred miles, I bet you get used to it." Crotus growled.  
"How can yourrr kind be so disgustingly optimistic?" he asked suddenly. Tas shrugged.  
"It's not that hard," he mused. "There's a good side to anything if you just look for it." Dreamflight smiled proudly and nestled against her husband. Crotus glared menacingly. "Er, right, well to get back on with the subject… Since you're in our possession, we've decided to make use of you. We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there. Seeing as you're about the right size, you get to take us to Godshome." Crotus told them quite honestly what he thought of that idea.  
"You know, that's no way to address a lady," Dreamflight sniffed. "If you're not going to serve us willingly, I'm afraid I'll have to force you. I honestly don't want to do that."  
"No torrrturrre you can inflict will make me serrrve you," he hissed. "Do yourrr worrrst. I would rrrather die than betrrray my masterrr." Tasslehoff pitied the insect as Dreamflight shrugged and chanted under her breath softly, waving her staff in a hypnotic motion before the bug.  
"Why does everyone always say that they'd rather die than do something?" Tas asked himself, watching Dreamflight work. "It certainly does cut down on the amount of interesting experiences you can have. Personally, I'd like to save dying for last."  
"And you will, dear," Dreamflight assured him once her work had been done. She began untying Crotus. "I'll try to make sure it's fun and painless too." Tasslehoff took the ropes she handed him, watching as Crotus stood silently at a word from his new master.  
"What'd you do to him?" Tasslehoff inquired, helping her string on makeshift reins to the antenna. "He's as docile as a pony. Granted, he'd be a very ugly and multi-legged pony."  
"All of reality is relative," she stated simply, mounting the hard exoskeleton back. "He thought that Chaos was his master. I distorted his reality to otherwise." Tasslehoff crawled up behind her, holding on to her waist. He jolted as a light tap of her heel sent the centipede racing at three times the pace that they had been walking. He was still tired - this was just another sleepless night that they'd experienced, but the thrill of riding on a centipede kept him wide awake.  
"We can rest soon," she replied gently, as though reading his thoughts. "At Godshome, I promise… We'll get a nice rest before embarking into Neraka." Tasslehoff remembered the last time he had been in Neraka and was suddenly thankful they'd be going to the home of the gods beforehand. Even though the kender he clutched to now was a powerful goddess, he had a feeling that the extra help wouldn't hurt. 


	3. Chapter III: The Basis of Magic

The pace that Crotus set was brisk, fast, and smooth. The two kender rode at ease on his long sinuous back, relaxed at the moment. Although danger was around every corner and they knew this, there was no immediate hurry now. Instead, they watched the scenery fly by, chatting happily with one another and resting peacefully at night, for now they had Crotus to stand guard at Dreamflight's command. This allowed Tas plenty of time to dwell on his thoughts.  
"Dreamflight," he murmured in her ear the second day of their traveling. "I have a few questions…" Dreamflight smiled back at him to indicate that she could hear him and was listening. "You said you distorted Crotus's reality so he'd think you were his master. How did you do that? And those scorpions back in that town. How do you do any of it? Can you cast magic, like Raistlin?" Dreamflight tilted her head one way, then the other, back and forth as she thought. Finally, in a maneuver of flexibility, she twisted completely around and slowly untangled her legs until she was holding the reigns behind her and sitting to face Tas.  
"Yes and no," she answered. "Yes, it is a type of magic. No, they're not really spells. Spells are only a denomination of this kind of magic." Tas was stumped.  
"There's more magic than spells and devices and curses?" he inquired. "I can't really think of what would be left, unless you mean divine magic. Is it divine magic?" Dreamflight grinned.  
"Yes and no," she repeated. Tas peered at her, thinking she was making fun of him. She laughed softly. "Yes, it stems off my divine magic. No, it is not all of my magic." She took a deep breath. "Words have power, Tas. They convey meaning in tone and in the words themselves. Saying the same sentence twice in two different ways can give you two different reactions. Magic spells are nothing but arcane words strung together. It is the words themselves that create the magic. That, my dear, is why the magic of bards are so powerful." Tas eyed her perceptively.  
"So bards are like mages," he reflected. "So why aren't bards running around casting spells?" Dreamflight smiled more.  
"A good bard can only control the reaction of his audience," she instructed. "A great bard can do that and a couple spells here and there. A master bard can give life to his music. A divine bard controls anything. And I am the most divine bard of them all." Tas sighed and stared ahead to the darkness on the horizon. It looked like stormclouds.  
"Then why can't we just use your magic all the time?" he asked. "I mean, it's great fun riding around on a centipede like this. Almost as fun as riding a pony. But it'd be even more fun to be whooshed. I really never tire of it, you know." Dreamflight laughed.  
"I'm only a simple kender bard," she giggled. "Inside me is the heart of the goddess, but this…" She held out her arms, which nearly unseated her as Crotus jostled them about. Quickly, she held back on. "Is mortal. I am mortal. What few 'spells' I have are precious. I am only able to do a little everyday, and those are small. Now, granted, if I did nothing for a very long time, the magic is great. That's why I baked those scorpions. That took months of restrain from magic." Tas sighed, imagining what wonderful things he'd like to do with a magic like that. "So if you were in an immortal form, you could sing unlimited songs with unlimited magic." Dreamflight started to shake her head, but looked thoughtful.  
"I don't even need to sing when I am Dreams," she muttered, forcing Tas to lean closer to hear above the whistle of the wind. "My divine abilities are based on belief. If I believe it, it will come to pass. It's that simple. If I were Dreams, I could hold out my hand and believe I held an apple and there would be one, as if it always were. My domain is anything. That is why I am the Goddess of Anything and Everything. It's the opposite with my brother. He can make it so everything is nothing… He could take that apple I conjured and believe it never was, and it never would have been." Tasslehoff shook his head. This was beginning to go far past his ability of comprehension. However, Dreamflight continued.  
"Oh, Chaos can create too," she assured him, although he hadn't said anything. "It's hard, but he can. And I can destroy. But neither of us will if we can help it. It goes against our natures. He hates order and I hate emptiness. That's one reason Takhisis and I do not get along. The Abyss is nothing. I hate it! I offered to spice it up a bit but she took offense. I really don't know why." At the mentioning of the Abyss, Tas shook horrible, racked with shudders. Dreamflight put her arms around him comfortingly. "Sorry. I know you don't want reminded. Anyways, the entire system of the gods is based on belief. The more belief, the more power the god has. In that alternate reality, when Takhisis was the only god, she was the only thing everyone believed in. That's why she was so powerful. It's why the lesser gods are, well, lesser. Less people believe in them, or their abilities. Poor Branchala…"  
"But nobody has heard of you," Tas blurted, before covering his mouth and blushing. "I'm sorry! I mean, I believe in you, now. But-"  
"It's alright," Dreamflight laughed. "Chaos and I are different. For me, if anyone believes in anything I exist. I am, I guess, an embodiment of belief and dreams, thus my name. So long as people disbelieve, Chaos will remain." She looked up at the sky, beginning to turn darker with the clouds. "That is why I slept for so long…" Tasslehoff was about to politely inquire what she meant, although he was quickly tiring of conversation and itching to stretch his legs, but lightning flashed in the sky and rain seemed to pour suddenly on top of them. Dreamflight twisted back around and pulled on Crotus's reigns, leading him under the sparse trees she could find. The two huddled together under its leaves, shivering as the rain pounded down upon them.  
"I know you only have limited strength, but we could really use some magic now," Tas pleaded. "Just a small one. Please?" Dreamflight slipped her pipe from a pocket and played five notes, all that was needed, and the branches of the tree squeezed together on top of them, forming a foliage roof. Tas smiled and relaxed, leaning against the trunk of the tree. "Thank you." Dreamflight put the pipe back and petted Crotus, murmuring reassuring words to him. Tas's eyes scanned the sky.  
"Do you think we'll be attacked?" he speculated. Dreamflight shook her head as she rummaged around for food in her pouches.  
"They'd be too likely to be struck by lightning," she muttered. "And, we're getting closer to Neraka. The bugs there will be the smaller, tame ones of Takhisis. After that, I don't think there will be any at Godshome. The others wouldn't stand for that. For now, we're safe."  
"Until the spell wears off on Crotus," Tas pointed out, almost cheerfully. "I wonder how well they fight in the rain…" Dreamflight shook her head, opted to say nothing, and tried to start a fire. Tasslehoff slumped down next to the feeble sparks, watching lightning race across the sky.  
"You're right, Neraka isn't far," he said at last. "We'll be going around it very soon…" He sighed and watched the stars beginning to come out only to be covered by thick, black rain clouds. He felt quite lucky that he didn't believe in omens. 


	4. Chapter IV: Caught

They were in the borderlands of Neraka. It was here that they faced their most peril as bug swarms patrolled just about everywhere. Tasslehoff pointed this out to Dreamflight, asking how they were going to avoid the insectoid guards. She merely smiled and assured him that something would work in their favor. It usually did.  
As it turned out, the storm did just that. The next morning had come and there was no lull in the torrents of rain coming down. With urgent prodding, Dreamflight and Tas spurred Crotus into action. With rain and wind like this the bugs patrolling the outskirts of Neraka would have retreated back to the shelter of buildings and hives and such. Although the rain stung their exposed flesh, and the winds drilled bitter chill into their blood, the two kender were taking a most optimistic approach to the situation.  
"I haven't seen a storm like this one in quite a while," Tas mused, his teeth chattering. They had wrapped a blanket around themselves but it grew increasingly damp and heavy and they were forced to put it away again. Now Tas was trying to shrink into his collar, hoping the woolen vest would help. Dreamflight road proudly, her head tilted up to the rain, laughing almost joylessly.  
"This is so exciting!" she shouted over the winds. "How much do you want to wager that we'll be struck by lightning? I'll bet… I'll bet my cracked mug that we get blown into the trees first."  
"I don't think any wager will benefit us if either of those happen," Tas observed. "Blast, this rain does sting though." Dreamflight smiled apologetically behind her shoulder and spread her wings, rather pathetic looking when soaked, over Tasslehoff in hopes she could shield him. It helped. Not much, but enough. Tas sighed and wrapped his arms tighter around her waist for support as Crotus slipped and slid in the mud.  
"Wouldn't it be dreadful if we ran into one of my brother's minions in this storm?" Dreamflight reflected. "I wonder who would be at more of the disadvantage." She waved her hand. "No matter. I can't think of a single insect, big or small, who would willingly go out in the storm. They'd be blown to pieces." Tasslehoff glanced around in the near pitch darkness with eager anticipation.  
"I wouldn't say that," he mused. "I'm sure there must be at least one species that can handle the wind and rain."  
"And what's that?" Dreamflight scoffed. "Name one." Tas squinted more to his left.  
"How about a locust?" he offered. "A big locust… Waxy wings, powerful body." Dreamflight tilted her head.  
"I suppose a locust could," she admitted before Crotus reared up, forcing Dreamflight to hang on to the reigns tightly. He reared again, this time dumping the two kender into the muddy ground. They scrambled, slipping frequently, to get to their feet. Dreamflight looked around for Crotus but it appeared he had vanished. "Tas… Why did you suddenly think of locust?"  
Tasslehoff plucked his knife from its sheath, "No reason. Well, except for that one I saw stalking us in the forest. I didn't want to tell you because you were so busy steering." Dreamflight shook her head, silent, listening. The two kender pressed together, straining to see in the darkness between flashes of lightning. Thunder shook the earth… And then it kept shaking.  
"Do you feel that?" she whispered, fumbling for Tas's hand. Tasslehoff nodded. They waited, tensely, for an attack… But none came. "False alarm?" There was a high pitched insectoid scream, a horrible ripping and cracking sound… And the lower half of Crotus was thrown over their heads, landing in front of them, twitching horribly. Conscious of the present danger, Tas thrust his arm out in front of Dreamflight and backed up with her slowly, all the while watching the mutilated half insect with fascination.  
"What do you suppose makes it twitch?" he asked, depositing her in the shadow of a tree. Before she could answer, he ran back to it, poking at it gleefully with the tip of his hoopak. "Is it still alive?"  
"Tas, get back here!" Dreamflight pleaded. "The locust that did that must still be out there!"  
"Quite rrrright goddess…" Dreamflight stiffened. She could either run, scream, or do nothing. Her mind chose to run and her body chose to do nothing. Tasslehoff spun around and faced the locust with defiance, gripping his hoopak tightly. Behind Dreamflight stood a towering locust, clicking its mandibles and lower its arms down. "I'll just be taking this…" As Tasslehoff made a threatening move forward, the locust halted.  
"I am not as foolish as my breathrrren," he explained. "I will not take the goddess by forrrce. However… If you allow me to take herrr willingly, no harrrm shall come to pass… I will be brrringing you as well… My masterrr was clearrr on that. So will you come willingly?" Tasslehoff hesitated, looking to Dreamflight, waiting for her to do to this creature what she had done to Crotus. To his dismay, she stood with her head lowered, her hands clasped obediently before herself.  
"Dreamflight?" he murmured. "Are you alright?"  
"Let him take us," she whispered in a voice that carried the weariness of years. "We would not get to Godshome on time… Not without Crotus…"  
"You can't just give up!" Tas cried out, lifting his hoopak defiantly. "We didn't come all this way to just roll over and take this!" Dreamflight lifted her head. In her eyes sparkled a message, brief, and bright. Tas blinked at this sudden show of life, and it took five winks on her part before he caught on. Smiling, he slung his hoopak cheerfully against his shoulder and marched up to the locust.  
"Alright!" he declared. "Let's go! The sooner we get out of the rain the better." The locust looked suspiciously at Tas.  
"Why the sudden change in hearrrt?" he muttered. "Arrre you planning something?" Tasslehoff smiled brightly at Dreamflight and shook his head. The locust peered at the two… And shrugged. He snatched the two kender quickly, jerking them about, and leaping into the air with his powerful legs. Before long, the two were being speeded with all haste to Neraka. The locust was still quite sure they were plotting, but to his mind, what could they possibly do? 


	5. Chapter V: Jails and Stories

Dreamflight lay limply, but comfortably, in the locust's grasps. She was startled to find that he did not handle her roughly, merely securely, and that was a feeling she was quite used to. His arms wrapped around her waist and legs, strong enough to ensure she would not fall or escape. As she gazed at the ground flying by below her, she doubted escape was the best thing to do at the moment anyways.  
And besides, she thought, I purposedly got into this mess for a reason. I must know what Takhisis will do with me if I fall in her hands. Will she turn me over to Chaos, as she probably promised him, or will her insatiable greed take her to her own destruction once again? And what of Tas? Why were they instructed to take him alive?  
She glanced over at him, noting that he hung in the insect's grasp the same way she did. His face was not twisted in pain, anguish, or sorrow. It was lit with joy and exhaultation as he tried to spread his arms - the locust wouldn't allow him - and mimic flying.  
"This is great!" he called back over to Dreamflight. "Is this what flying is like? Is this the same thrill you get to experience?" She gauged the speed they were going. The locust was flowing close to the ground to avoid as much wind, rain, and lightning as possible. She glanced back over and nodded.  
"I've never gone this fast before, though," she admitted. "I'd have to be falling from a great height and gliding down sharply to reach this speed." Tas grinned happily, cheering at every twist, loop, and maneuver the locust made. At the moment, the fact that they were speeding off to Neraka seemed to have left the kender's mind. It hadn't for Dreamflight, but she remembered back to what Tas had mentioned about less worrying and optimism. It was obvious that Tasslehoff had found his silver lining. But what goodness could this possibly bring to her?  
"At least we're sheltered from the rain," she thought tiredly. "And we'll be closer to Godshome, although trapped in some Neraka jail… I wonder if the jails are kenderproof… I doubt it."  
A great looming structure was coming into view as lightning illuminated the surroundings. From their vantage point, it appeared to be a mountain of ruins, shaped roughly like the temple. Hideous sculptures and carvings grinned maliciously at the kender as their ride zoomed past them at amazing speeds. Dreamflight found them to be rather dull.  
"I'd like to see Takhisis try something new for a change," she confided in Tas. "It's always skulls this, black that, death here, demons there. Why can't she scare people with images of conclaves, discussions, and long trials? I know that'd make me want to rethink coming here."  
"It's the drama," Tas replied. "Evil people can't seem to get enough of it. I don't mind, personally. If I could meet one of these demons I would. There's so much about hideous demons from the bowls of torment that I don't know about. And imagine if you could befriend one. That's an ally I wouldn't mind watching my back."  
"I doubt they're the friend making kind of creatures," Dreamflight sighed wistfully. "Much like goblins. But who'd want to be friends with a goblin anyways? They smell horrible."  
"Enough chatterrr," the locust scowled. "I need my concentration to navigate us through this storm and wreckage. Unless you'd rrrather go on foot with me prrrodding you two along."  
"That could be fun!" interjected Tas.  
The locust turned long enough to glare at Tas before looking back at his path. "Shut up."  
"That could be fun too," he replied meekly. Before long, they were at the front steps to the ruined temple of Neraka. The locust landed, setting the two kender down. Still dazed, the kender couple remained where they were, looking around, trying to absorb all of their surroundings. Quickly, before the pair could regain their senses, two large, but not overly large, arachnids scuttled from the darkness and sprayed their sticky web onto them. The two began writhing about, trying to free themselves.  
"Enough," the locust commanded. "Cease strrruggling. This is only so you do not wanderrr off. Now, walk forrrwarrrrd." The two gloomily marched, as commanded.  
"Are you going to take me straight to my brother?" Dreamflight asked, deciding now would be a good time to put her interrogation to the test. The locust kept his replies short and concise, revealing little.  
"No."  
"To Takhsis?"  
"No."  
"To an exit?" The locust laughed. "Well, um, what are you going to do?"  
"You shall see," was all he replied, prodding the two whenever they lagged. Dreamflight sighed, wishing she could skip or hop or something else besides march. Beside her, she could hear Tas humming very faintly under his breath. The notes brought a lift to her spirit and she held her head up, more defiantly.  
Not much longer the two kender faced two cells, side by side, and leaving much to be desired to the imagination and in the matter of size. With a none too gentle shove, the locust separated the couple and locked the doors, making sure that the two were still held captive in the webbing. With a chuckle, he stalked off down a dark corridor until his shadow faded away as well.  
"Well, that was new," Tas replied, breaking the silence. "Now what? Think we can wriggle out of this webbing?"  
"It's very sticky," Dreamflight pointed out. "I think I'll need magic… But I used most of it already. Without food and rest, I'm too exhausted."  
"We have to get out of here," Tas urged her gently. "I've met Takhisis. She's not nice." Dreamflight smirked, laying back to count the ceiling bricks.  
"I'm related to her, Tas," she muttered. "I know how not nice she is. Here, she's a feared goddess. There, she's a spoiled brat. I'd give her a sound spanking if I could. Lucky for her, I was asleep far too long."  
"You've mentioned that before," Tasslehoff pointed out. "What do you mean by that?" Dreamflight fidgeted, as much as one could with all limbs wrapped against their body.  
"It's hard to explain, so I guess I'll have to convey the jist of it. When Chaos and I were created, there was a shifting in the balance. We were both weak, vulnerable. Being fueled on belief, I fell into a deep stasis sleep. After all, there was nothing to believe in me, aside from my creator, and it wasn't enough to keep me conscious. So I slept for a long, long time. Chaos never let his children or the other gods know about my existence, so they couldn't start believing and waking me. It wasn't until the creation of Krynn that I woke. Humans, elves, and ogres were in the world. They began to believe things and my power built. When I woke, I was quite surprised to find I had a whole family waiting for me. Soon after, Chaos disappeared. Apparently he was trapped in some jewel. I didn't catch on to that. So long as he was gone, I was free to roam as I would. I had all this power at my disposal! But… The people of Krynn didn't know about me, and the Cataclysm was coming up, so I was hesitant to make myself known. I stayed back, working on the creation of Seler.  
"After Seler was created, and Chaos was still out of the picture, the Cataclysm struck. The gods found that their creations had turned from them and were severely weakened as a result. They spent their time nursing their wounds, so to speak, waiting for people to believe again. I tried an experiment, concealing myself as a lesser god so I could visit my brethren. This was how I met Branchala. I'm not sure if he was here before or after I woke, but, he was there, and it was an instant match.  
"We had a crush, a fling, and it didn't work out. No worry. We decided that a strong friendship would suffice, and he taught me all I needed to know about Krynn and my brethren. However, they sensed my extraordinary power and revealed me for the higher god that I was. Some were angry, some happy, most surprised, and a couple wanted me out of the way as Chaos had been. I must admit my brother did not make a good name for the higher gods. So I fled to Seler, a long empty planet now beginning to be populated with the souls of warriors and great people. From here I watched Krynn, and all its wars and little quirks. That's how I chanced upon you, Tasslehoff. I don't know why you, out of all the beings that ever existed, caught my attention. When I saw you, I felt a stirring… Like something within me was being woke up. So I paid attention… And fell in love." Dreamflight paused to glance over and smile lovingly at Tasslehoff before shaking her head ruefully. "Long story short, here we are today. Trapped in a spider's web in Takhisis's old jail cell."  
"Normally I'd say that there wasn't a jail cell that I couldn't escape from, but I'll give credit to Takhisis," Tasslehoff mused. "I think we're stuck. You don't have any magic and I can't reach my lockpicks. I suppose we're sitting kender." Dreamflight took a long look at her surroundings and reached a conclusion.  
"Believe me," she declared, "where there's a will, there's a way. We're getting out of here." 


	6. Chapter VI: Seperated

Tasslehoff listened closely to her plan, there not being anything else to do. As far as he was concerned, it was going to work. Although, in his state of optimism, she could have said to click his heels three times saying "There's no place like Kendermore" and he would have believed it. Of course, they didn't know about that otherwise such a thing may have been suggested.  
Instead, Dreamflight had suggested a plan of worthy merit. Admittedly, the kender race since the dawn of their race's creation has learned new and exciting ways to get out of jail cells, guard grips, chains, ropes, and every other imaginable attempt tried to keep a kender detained. It can be said that the other races haven't resorted to throwing all kender into the Blood Sea of Istar only because the kender would enjoy it too much. That and the sea elves would probably throw them back.  
"All right Tas, scoot over here. No, the other over here. That's it… Now get as close to the bars as you can. Can you turn a little that way? Good, good… Just a little more… Got it!" The kender couple was now situated so that they were back to back against their jail cell bars. Tasslehoff was leaned slightly to one side, pressing his hip as much between the bars as possible while Dreamflight slid downward until she could, with what little fingers were not bound, wriggle his knife free and start to sever his bonds at a painstakingly slow rate. Speed wasn't important to the kender, though. So long as one of them got free, the other could be quite hastily. After cutting free his hands to elbow, Tas began to wiggle out of the sticky strands, pulling them apart to make cutting easier. Moments later, he was free.  
"Hold on to the knife for me," he asked her, patting around for his lock picks. "I'm going to need my hands free." Shrugging, she twisted the knife around in her fingers and slid it between the folds of the strands holding her, with only the hilt sticking out near her fingers. The two waited silent moments, broken only by the sound of clinking metal, as Tasslehoff worked the lock to his cell. Finally, a victorious snick marked the reward of Tas's labor.  
"I have to admit, they used the good kind of locks here," he said, sliding his pick back into his pocket and easing the door open as quietly as he could. Setting it back carefully, he approached Dreamflight's cell. "It must be an old one too. They just don't make jail locks like they used to." He sounded almost regretful. "Ah well, I get to do it all over again." As he reached to pick out a more appropriate pick from his collection, his sharp hearing picked up the sound of tiny feet scurrying across the temple floor.  
"Hide," Dreamflight hissed. Tasslehoff looked around for somewhere that would conceal him well enough. The room was still dark, but it was quite bare. There was a wooden chair for the jailer to keep post, other cells, and a couple of stools. Despairing, Tasslehoff cast Dreamflight an apologetic look and bolted out into a hallway. Sighing softly, Dreamflight sent all her hope that he would be safe flying after him, and curled up in a corner to feign sleep.  
The scurrying feet grew louder until a large ant had entered the room, carrying what looked like rope in one of its hands. Its eyes, accustomed to darkness, glared into Tasslehoff's empty cell.  
"Wherrre did that otherrr kenderrr go?!" it shrieked. Dreamflight faked being startled awake, blinked her eyes a couple time, and peered into the empty cell.  
"Maybe he had to go to the bathroom," she suggested innocently, drawing back as the ant ripped her door off her cell and grabbed her none too gently. A loop was thrown over her neck and tightened, but not to the point of choking. The ant gave her a viscious shove, which did not help to loosen the noose.  
"You will tell Herrr Majesty the trrruth," the ant chattered angrily. "Forrr now, you marrrch to yourrr demise. Herrr Majesty is waiting forrr you. If you trrry to rrrun off, this noose will pop yourrr ugly head off yourrr shoulderrrs. Now go!" Gloomily, Dreamflight marched on, as she was beginning to think was the only mode of transportation in this whole temple. If you weren't being prodded forward, you were the prodder. She scowled faintly and wished the insects would be polite enough to let her poke them at the end of a rope once in a while. Another shove broke her out of her revere and she sighed heavily, plodding down a dank hallway to go meet her niece.  
  
Tasslehoff raced down the twisting corridors, recalling faint, fuzzy memories of doing this before with Tika. He hoped it would not have the same ending.  
For a while, there was no other sound except for the jangling of pouches and the slap of his feet on the ground. He slowed, wondering if they'd forgotten about him entirely. For once, he thought, this would be to my advantage. He now sneaked quietly down the musty hallways, hurrying where torchlight illuminated his figure, and wondering if he would get to find his way back to Dreamflight.  
"I should have made a map of this place last time I was here," he said gently to himself out loud. "But then again, I don't think I was planning on coming back." Just when he was quite sure he was lost completely, voices echoed to him eerily from one of the rooms ahead of him. He stopped, flattening himself against a wall, and listened carefully.  
"The goddess is being escorrrted to Herrr Majesty now, sirrr," a voice reported. "The otherrr one is still missing. We've just now sent otherrrs to trrry to find him." Tas grit his teeth against the sound. He had still not grown accustomed to the grating voices of the insects.  
"Find him quickly," another voice spoke. "Her Majesty specifically said both of them. And bring him alive." As an afterthought, it added, "But do rough him up a bit to ensure this isn't repeated." There was a scraping sound and then silence. Tas held his breath as he waited for some insect to come scurrying down his hallway, but none appeared. He let it out in a sigh and crept forward. The second voice, masculine, hadn't the irritating lisp that the bugs had. He judged, from the deepness of tone, that it was a human.  
"That figures," Tasslehoff thought wearily to himself. "You never see kender serving the Dark Queen. She's not fond of us, after all. I don't see why not. I'm doing a perfectly fine job of sneaking around her temple right now. You couldn't find a human with the kind of stealth like this. They'd go blundering into things, shouting at the top of their lungs." He shook his head. "No poise. No class at all. It's an insult to the victim, that's what it is." He neared a room that was brightly lit, assuming that this was where the voices had originated from. He peeked in curiously, wondering what human was working with the bugs. He could only see the backside of the man, clad in black armor. Then quickly, the figure turned around and gave the room a searching glance, as though paranoid. Tasslehoff's eyes widened.  
"No," he whispered, "it can't be him… Can it?" 


	7. Chapter VII: Escape!

A door opened in a room, casting weak torchlight into the deepest darkness. It was as though the light did not shine into the darkness, rather than the darkness made room for the light. A small figured was shoved into the dark room to stand alone against the vastness. Dreamflight did not waver or blanch, but held her head proudly, her bearing regal, against what she faced. The doors shut, and once again the room was in complete shadow, but she did not flinch.  
Some of the shadows separated and broke off, wavering to take a form but being unable to. From this the voice of Takhisis spoke.  
"I have you." Dreamflight smiled crookedly at the darkness and started to lean to one side, as if still possessing her staff, but straightened up when she nearly tipped over.  
"A better way to say that is I'm allowing myself to be had," she corrected. The darkness snorted.  
"You couldn't get away if you tried, Dreams," it hissed. "I have you under my complete control." Dreamflight snorted in mimicry of the early one.  
"What are YOU going to do?" she laughed. "You're nothing more than a shadow here. You can't even touch me. Your menacing, mind echoing, grandeur threats may send the mortals with their tail between their legs, but you're not going to get the same effect. If I wanted, I could leave now."  
"You cannot do any better. You are not one to talk of mortals, for that's what you've become." Takhisis paused, as if speculating. "I will never understand you. First you try to conceal yourself as a lesser god, then take the form of a mortal and allow yourself to be born here. And now you consort with a mortal, take him as your husband. And a kender, no less. The most despicable of all the races, save for the elves. Certainly the most irritating. You demean yourself constantly, rather than use the power granted to you. It's a disgrace to everything that is godhood. You are a disgrace. You can do nothing, mortal. You are mine."  
Dreamflight had an impish grin on her face, as she replied, slyly, "I think you're just mad because I've become soul mates with the kender that's been a thorn in yours and my brother's side for quite some time… And there isn't a damn thing you can do about it. Besides, my dear niece, it is me that you owe your existence to. I took your worthless soul and restored it to godhood in Seler, along with precious Paladine. This is how you repay me?"  
Bitterly, Takhisis retorted, "By restoring Paladine as well I owe you nothing. Chaos has promised me supreme rulership over Seler. For that, all he asks is that I return you to him."  
"But you won't!" crowed Dreamflight in glee. "You're too selfish! I know you, Takhisis. Even with Seler being dangled before you like a bauble your insatiable greed will drive you to more. What's next? Krynn again? Perhaps some other universe? Or do you want to rule over Chaos too?"  
"You are a bargaining chip," consented Takhisis. "Why settle for Seler? If Chaos is desperate enough, he will give me anything I like." Dreamflight grinned as Takhisis returned her taunts hotly. Her plan was working… She shifted the knife's handle into her fingertips and began to slowly cut the threads the bound her. So long as she could keep Takhisis occupied…  
"You are as dumb as you are ugly," mocked Dreamflight. "Do you really think Chaos will agree to even his original bargain? Where do you think you get your backstabbing personality from? Certainly not me." She could feel Takhisis' anger mounting as more threads were cut, and took great delight in seeing how far she could push this Dark Queen's temper. "And if you try to hasten the deal into more, he may agree, or he'll blast you to oblivion on the spot. Child of his or not, he cares little to nothing for any of you after you created Krynn behind his back. I must say, though, that was a proud moment for me." Takhisis's fury could be felt heating the room to such intensity that Dreamflight began to sweat, though she did not falter.  
"Silence!" commanded Takhisis, knowing quite well that it would not work. "Silence or I shall deliver you to Himself in pieces!" At this point, Dreamflight needed only to snap a few more threads before she would be sufficiently freed enough, and was resorting to a very kender like insult barrage, her voice rising shriller with each line.  
"Of course you need Chaos's help," she laughed. "You've had, what, four wars and you haven't won a single one yet? My gosh, you should crawl into the Abyss and hide in there! Oh, I'm sorry, I'm afraid that's all you can do at the moment, isn't it? Portal's been causing you some trouble hasn't it? Is there one around here? I'm sure I could show you how to work it. It involves walking. You know, like through a door? Or is your style more to break down doors?" Takhisis's voice rose in a shriek of fury and hatred, the darkness shifting and blowing around Dreamflight, but unable to do more than that in the insubstantial form. Dreamflight gave the last constricting thread a snip and paused, grinning inanely into the empty room, "Make sure to give Paladine a hug for me next time you see him, Tacky dear. Be a good girl, now!" Before Takhisis could respond, Dreamflight spread her wings and arms, the thread falling off to her in shreds and spun around, threw open the door, ducked under the guard's legs, and ran off with the Dark Queen screaming for vengeance behind her.  
"I love these family reunions," Dreamflight muttered under her breath as the pursuit began.  
  
Tasslehoff watched in a trance as Dalamar gave a sneer and turned back around. At least, he thought it was Dalamar. Now that he thought about it, the voice did resemble Dalamar's, although now deeper and huskier. The face seemed like his as well, more delicate than a human's, but not quite as delicate as an elf. It certainly felt like Dalamar but it looked far from the Dalamar that Tas remembered.  
I know it's been a long time since I last saw him, Tas thought, but I certainly know that Dalamar was a mage, not a knight, and that he was an elf, not a human. So what's going on here? Perhaps he was using some sort of spell to make himself resemble someone else? I knew mages were capable of that, but I just don't think that's what's happening here. It was so confusing. But, these days, that was nothing new.  
A horrible, chilling cry pierced the silence, echoing down the hallways in a way that made Tas shudder. Dalamar looked around in concern and worry, bellowing an order for scouts to report to him. Two flat beetles scuttled into the room, trying to press themselves flatter in a type of bug-like bow.  
"What's wrong?" Dalamar demanded of them. "What's Takhisis doing?" One of the bugs, trembling answered that the kender goddess had escaped and Takhisis was demanding she be found, dead or alive this time. With a nod and a brief word, Dalamar sent them away with their orders and ran off to pursue some course of action of his own. Tasslehoff took the opportunity to hurry away in the opposite direction. He was still quite lost, and relying only on his gut instinct, tried to find Dreamflight. He ran around bends and down hallways as fast as he could, his breathing and footsteps echoing unchecked. For the moment, he wanted speed, not stealth, and cared little if he was caught or not.  
"I'm coming," Tas vowed between pants. "Hold on Dreamflight, I'll protect you!" Although this was an absurd notion. How could he protect a goddess supposedly as strong as Chaos? "I suppose I could always be a distraction. I'm quite good at that."  
After an untold amount of time racing down the hallways, suspicious that he wasn't being spotted or chased, his ears picked up a hopeful sound.  
"You'd think with all those legs you overgrown pests could catch me!" Dreamflight's voice shouted. He could hear a second pair of running footsteps coming his way. Skidding to a stop, he waited in eager anticipation for Dreamflight. Five minutes of being dragged around as fast as he could stumble behind later, he wondered at what he had been expecting.  
"Where are we going?" panted Tas, dodging skillfully aside as a large insectoid projectile was shot at them.  
"Anywhere but here!" Dreamflight called back, cheering in delight as they flew through the entrance, leaving the spider guards quite dumbstruck. "The way I see it, if we can get far enough, fast enough, we should reach Godshome."  
"But that's still days away!" protested Tas, feeling the burn of exhaustion in his side and wondering if it were at all possible to run at this pace for days. He doubted so very much. Waiting for a reasonable explanation and not receiving one, Tas lifted his head to look inquiringly at Dreamflight. She was gliding still, blood running down one of her wings as the wounds from the guards of Sanction were re-opened. He marveled at her ability to fly while injured until he noticed that she was seemingly held up by an odd aura of white light. He wondered even less as he saw her lips moving silently, singing without voice the words to a song.  
"You're going to magic us there!" Tas declared in delight. A slight smile formed as Dreamflight continued to sing, confirming his suspicions. He glanced behind his shoulders, wondering at the amount of time they had left and how fast they really had to run. He hadn't had to look long before running faster. "Dreamflight, they're right behind us! At least twenty of the big ones and an untold amount of swarms!" Red light covered her body, spreading to his by their clasped hands. The red light was covered by a shroud of darkness, hiding them from their surroundings but rendering them unable to see as well. Dreamflight landed, leaning heavily against Tas as fatigue held her down like weights.  
"I can't see anything," he said softly, holding Dreamflight up against his shoulder. "Why did we stop? Not that I'm not grateful for a rest, I'd rather not take the 'big rest' just yet."  
"They can't get us," Dreamflight assured him. "They can't even see us, and we're already speeding away from them. In a couple hours, we will be in Godshome… And hopefully, no sooner. I need rest, food… I'm so hungry, Tas." Tasslehoff felt as though he could eat his own shoes at the moment, but said nothing. He didn't think it would help to complain at the moment.  
"Just hang in there," he advised. "Can we touch the aura? Is it solid?" Dreamflight nodded. "Good. I need to rest too…" Slumping, the two curled up on the floor of their magical bubble and shut their eyes, completely safe for the moment. 


	8. Chapter VIII: Home again

The magical aura carried them swiftly to their destination, Godshome, without any interference. Gently laying the two sleeping kender to the ground, the aura dispersed, leaving the couple undisturbed. While it can't be said if the gods can really be impatient or not, it would appear this would be the case. A figure seemingly stepped out of the clear surface of the star pool, carrying a lute over his back and a hoopak in his hand. Bacher sighed and approached the two sleeping kender. Even in repose, they appeared exhausted from their travel. Bacher leaned against his hoopak and studied them again, wondering the best course of action to take.  
Shrugging he lifted the hoopak and prodded both of them until they stirred. With a rueful grin, he helped them both to their feet, muttering apologies with a big grin on his face.  
"Bacher?" Dreamflight murmured when she had rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She perked up, fully awake now, and flung herself into his arms. "You're a sight for sore eyes, Bacher. You wouldn't believe what we've just been through."  
"Actually, I would," he replied quite smoothly, patting Dreamflight on the back and smiling. He turned his gaze to Tasslehoff, who was still swaying half asleep on his feet. "Gilean has been keeping tabs on Takhisis through his librarian. When we heard you had been taken captive we were all watching, so to speak. Quite a fun display you put on. We got a few chuckles out of that, though I can say that Takhisis is not pleased. But when is she ever? Now, the triplets heard your plea for help and granted it to you. They would have done so anyways, but you do have a bargain to uphold. I'll escort you home, if you like."  
Dreamflight shook her head. "I'm not going to stay there long, just enough to get myself rested. Could you give Tas a hand? I don't think it'd be proper if he showed up half asleep." Bacher hesitated, smiling nervously at Tasslehoff.  
"Would you excuse us a moment?" he asked. An incoherent noise and a nod confirmed that he could, and he drew Dreamflight aside by the arm.  
"He can't come," Bacher sighed softly, "you should know this. Before you argue, I can see that he's tired too, but we can't very well go inviting every mortal on a whim. It's not… Well it's not right, and I'm sure the others would agree."  
"I can't just leave him here!" Dreamflight argued. "He needs rested, fed, and at least one day where we're not attacked. If I can't bring Tas, I'm not going." She crossed her arms resolutely, turning her head and sniffing indignantly. Bacher smiled and pinched her cheek, lightly, with a laugh.  
"I've already got a plan," he said. "Just leave Tas to me. I'll make sure he gets what he needs. You need to go talk to the others before you worry everyone to death." Dreamflight hesitated, considering the proposal, and nodded.  
"You take care of him," she warned, wagging a finger at him. "And do a good job of it. I want him in high spirits when I come back. Do you hear me, Branchala?" Bacher smirked, already turning to wake Tas up again.  
"Just go," he urged. "They're waiting." Dreamflight smiled, skipping to the center of the star pool. Tas opened his eyes a bit, soon enough to see Dreamflight blow him a kiss and disappear completely.  
"Dreamflight!" he cried, sitting up and looking around. Remembering where he was, he relaxed a bit, jumping only slightly when Bacher slipped an arm around his back and hoisted him to his feet. "Is she, you know, up there?" Bacher chuckled and nodded, brushing the dirt off Tas's clothing. "When will she be back?"  
"When you're good and ready," Bacher replied, patting his pouches for an item. Smiling, he took a handful of rose petals. "Come on, we've got to get going if we're going to reach any decent town in time to enjoy the rest. And there's the matter of our identities…"  
  
Dreams gave a sigh of relief as she felt all her mortal pains melt away. Hunger, fatigue, aches all disappeared in the bat of an eyelash. She flexed her wings, healing rapidly now, and stretched to her full length, which wasn't much as she remained in kender form.  
"Welcome Dreams," intoned a familiar voice. Turning, she smiled at Solinari, who bowed politely to her. "It's a pleasure to have you back home."  
"We were hoping your aide took you swiftly to your destination," said Lunitari. "It appears we were right."  
"And although we hate to rush you, there is the matter of your payment in return," interjected Nuitari. With a smile, Dreams acquiesced, flicking her wrist and filling the otherwise silent air with soft music that made the three children of magic glow with power. They all smiled, reveling in the musical enchantment created specifically by Dreams for them. Pleased, they took the liberty of escorting the goddess to where the other divine waited.  
"Hello my relatives," she greeted them. They all stood in proper formation, gaps appearing where Paladine, Branchala, and Takhisis would have been. "I trust you are all well?" Sargonnas snorted derisively, having little care for Dreams, but attending for the sake of deciding what to do about Takhisis. "I think we all know why we're here…"  
"Takhisis is ruining your world looking for you, yet you won't hand yourself over to her to save it," said Mishakal. "I don't understand. Why? This isn't like you." Dreams had anticipated this.  
"Takhisis would only continue her rampage," Dreams explained. "Why should I sacrifice myself for that? Chaos is the one after me. I won't go to him through Takhisis." She snorted. "Besides, I've already seen what Takhisis plans. She will capture me, keep me, and use me into getting more of what she wants. Even then I wonder if she'd give me to Chaos." Dreams sighed. "But I don't know what to do about the attacks. I won't just run to Chaos and beg him to stop."  
"The humans have a saying, 'Pride before fall'," Sirrion noted. "You'd do well to heed this." Dreams laughed.  
"It's not pride that keeps me from ending this easily. It's love. Love and fact. Consider what would happen if I came to Chaos? A battle would ensue. One in which neither of us could win and the world would be badly damaged as a result. Chaos would be the victor in this. Besides, I fear for my unborn children if I would be forced into battle." At this, the other gods appeared interested and grave.  
"You consorted with the kender?" Gilean gasped. "Do you have any idea what you may have done?" Dreams smiled, amused. "This could result in the birth of new gods! The balance could be terribly thrown out of proportion!" Dreams laughed, and the children of magic, who always supported her, appeared smug.  
"You forget my place," Dreams scorned Gilean. "Am I not the Goddess of what has not yet been? Aren't the unborn merely people that have yet to be? Shouldn't I, of anyone else, know what I'm doing?" Gilean remained silent, chasticed. Dreams turned her gaze to the other divine, waiting for their arguments. When none came, she nodded, satisfied.  
"How long will you be staying?" asked Morgion in a sepulchral voice. Dreams smiled, ruffling her feathers and smiling brightly at all the faces turned to her.  
"I'm not sure," she declared, "but it seems I have been gone far too long. Worry not about Seler. It's my planet, not yours. For now, rejoice that Chaos and Takhisis are not here to anger you all. I will return to my realm and I welcome all who wish it to come join me. Let music flow through our hearts once again, reminding us of our purpose!" And, before anyone else could raise other concerns or issues, she disappeared in a flurry of feathers. Shortly after, a light hearted kender tune filled the hearts and mind of all the immortals. 


	9. Chapter IX: The Healing Process

Hands on his hips, Bacher studied Tasslehoff closely as the sleepy kender swayed from side to side, yawning.  
"Well, we're going to need disguises," Bacher sighed, pushing up his puffy sleeves. "At least you will. So… What will it be? Gnome or Dwarf? Or would you rather stay a kender?" Tasslehoff blinked, waking up to this inquiry.  
"You're going to change me?" he squeaked. "Turn me into something else? Because if that's the case, I'd rather be a dragon." Bacher waved a hand, scowling and sending rose petals in a shower.  
"Pish posh," he laughed. "I'm not going to physically change you. I'll just make an illusion so that you appear to look like someone else. And I can't make you a dragon because you're not the right size. I can change you to a race similar, or I can change your gender, girth, height, and all those little things."  
Tas's voice rose a pitch higher involuntarily. "I think I'll stay a male, please." While Bacher laughed, he contemplated what changes to take. "Can you give me wings?" Bacher casted him a stern look. "Er, I guess that's no…"  
Patting the disappointed kender on the back, Bacher offered, "I would if I could, Tas. But the point of this disguise is we're trying to be unnoticable and blend into a crowd. Besides, you can't use the illusion of wings anyways. Moreso, we won't notice the difference in how we look. Only everyone else. Now we've got to get a move on, so if you don't decide soon, I'll turn you into a girl after all." Gulping, Tas willed his mind to think of a disguise.  
Soon the two kender were complete in their illusionary ensemble. Tasslehoff took a resemblance to his father as much as he could, changing his height a bit to make him appear taller ("A pity you can't make me as tall as a human… But then I'd have to act like one!") and a bit older. Bacher was going to completely copy Reorx's mortal form but then decided against it. He was not in a hurry to see the wrong side of Reorx's hammer just yet.  
"I believe we're ready to hit the town," Bacher delcared with a grin. "Now… Could you supply me a map or two? Preferably any town you'd like to visit, because that's where we'll be staying. I suggest you choose a comfy and cozy town." Tasslehoff hummed and pondered over his maps briefly, but on the unrolling of one small map, decided immediately.  
"This one," he declared, handing it to Bacher. The worn map had the word "Solace" scrawled on top of it, the town itself, and the few roads coming and going from it. With a fond smile, Bacher placed his finger on one of the roads that headed into Solace and murmured a few verses under his breath.  
"Where the heart lives and memories reside, cozy homes and fires to sit beside, take me home to rest my weary self, and share tales with Flint Fireforge and Tanis Half-Elf." Tasslehoff's eyes widened at the last line and his mouth opened to ask Bacher how he knew of Flint and Tanis, but the world blurred so much around him, he was forced to keep his tongue in check just to get his bearings.  
"Bacher are you really taking us to Flint and Tanis?" he asked loudly over the spinning, shifting motion. Suddenly, it stopped, and Tas became acutely aware that he was indoors, near a fireplace, and being watched. Two shocked gasps confirmed this. "Well I suppose that answers that question…"  
"Sorry to just drop in like this," Bacher apologized cheerfully, standing on tiptoe and doffing a feathered hat. "I thought your friend could use a little rest and where better than with good friends? He has been through quite a bit after all, and… Hey, now, why are you looking at us like that? Haven't you ever seen two kender magically transported into your common room?"  
Grinning, Tasslehoff whispered to Bacher, "I really don't think they have. Maybe you should explain better."  
"Who are you two?" roared Flint once he had his senses back. "I demand an explanation! Who sent you? What do you want?"  
"Bacher, the travelling kender bard at your service," Bacher introduced himself with another doff of his hat. "And I believe you already know our good friend here."  
"Um, the illusions," Tas intoned. "Can they see them or the real thing?" Blinking, then laughing, Bacher smacked himself gently in the side of the head.  
"Silly me," he chuckled. "I forgot to make the spell wear off indoors. Really, we won't be needing it unless you leave this house." With a swift motion, the illusions were dropped like scarf veils before Tanis and Flint's eyes, and they gaped in astonishment once again.  
"Tasslehoff!" the two exclaimed in unison. Grinning tiredly, Tas gave them a little wave.  
"It's good to see you two again," he sighed happily. "And I knew I would too, though I had thought I'd have Dreamflight with me this time. But I have a lot to tell you!" While Tas rattled on, Bacher was beginning to make an exit. "Bacher! Wait, where are you going?"  
Grinning, Bacher paused at the doorway. "Well, I have to get back home. Don't worry about the illusion - it'll automatically reappear when you leave this home. I'm sure Dreamflight will remove it for you when she returns, that is, if you wish her to. You have a lot of catching up to do with your friends and I'll leave you to it. Farewell, Tasslehoff!"  
"But, hey, wait! Won't you come visit once in a while? Bring some news of how she's recovering? Please?" Bacher smiled wistfully, nodding, and leapt out the door, disappearing from sight. Tas turned to see Tanis and Flint eyeing him with the mixed expression of sternnes, amusement, and complete bewilderment.  
"You do have a lot to explain," said Tanis slowly. "So, start."  
  
By the time he had finished telling all of his story, Caramon and Tika had time to come over and catch the ending of it. Although he had exagerrated some parts, Tas had done a fairly decent job in keeping the story as truthful as possible. Tired out, he slumped down in the chair that Tanis had offered him and shut his eyes, happy for the respite.  
"It sounds like you've put up with quite a bit, Tas," Caramon mused. "So Takhisis has put a price on your heads? Well we haven't been visited by any bug legions yet. Maybe she's only issuing the demand to larger cities, thinking you'll hide out there." Tas shook his head and yawned.  
"She'll come," he sighed. "She and Chaos seem to know where we've been. I can't figure out how, though. On the upside, it's been pretty fun grappling with so many different insects. I guess I'll think twice about what I'm crushing under my foot next time." Smiling, Tanis grabbed a blank and draped it over Tasslehoff.  
"You deserve a little rest," he said. "Sweet dreams, Tasslehoff." The words went unnoticed as a snore rose from the slumbering kender.  
A week went by with little activity and already Tas was beginning to show signs of restlessness. To everyone's relief, it was around this time that Bacher returned. He came into Tanis's home quite oddly. Not magically, as before, but perched on a window sill quite suddenly.  
"Bacher!" exclaimed Tas, leaping from his seat. "Come in!" With a grin, Bacher swung his legs over the sill, perching and grinning. "Do you have news of Dreamflight? It's been a week, isn't she recovered yet?"  
Bacher raised a finger, wagging it slightly. "You forget, or rather, don't remember how time passes in immortal realms. It hasn't been very long since her return to her. More like a couple days. She's healing quite nicely, to be honest. Just give her time. She has to sort her affairs there too, and she's probably making plans for where her next move will be." With a slight sigh and a nod, Tas dropped the subjected. "Now, no need to look so gloomy. Let's take your mind off your troubles. Is there anything exciting going on? Anywhere?"  
Tasslehoff rummaged in his maps, drawing up in his mind the mental calendar of fairs, events, and other various affairs. Frowning slightly, he discarded most of his maps, leaving only two left of small towns. "There's a festival to honor Zeboim in Tanith, and a big farmer market in Heartlund. Not much selection, Bacher…" However, Bacher was rubbing his hands with a an expression of viscious glee on his face.  
"The Festival of the Sea it is," he chuckled, smirking with laughter sparkling in his eyes. Quickly, he snatched the map from Tasslehoff's hands and, with a half hearted wave to Tanis and Flint, chanted happily while tapping his fingertip rhythmically on the spot of the festival.  
"Dancing, feasting, laughing and more; a festival beginning on the shore. To honor Zeboim this day, take two kender to her bay." The teleportation enchantment began its work as the world started to spin around them. Grinning, Tas called out to what he supposed was where Tanis and Flint were standing his goodbye.  
"See you all later, and if Dreamflight shows up, tell her I'll be home as soon as I can!" Waiting for the dizzying spell to end, Tas shut his eyes and tried to listen to anything that they may be magically passing by. "You know, Bacher, getting there is half the fun. Don't you ever wonder what wonderful things you're missing by travelling this way? Not that it's not fun, but I sometimes wonder."  
"I've travelled over all of Krynn in earlier days," Bacher mused. "Seler isn't much different. Although, Dreams did add a few peculiar areas that I'd be delighted to see, but time is of the essence at the moment. After all, we're going to this festival to cheer you up, not for my own pleasures."  
"Then why don't you want to go?" Tas inquired, pondering why anyone wouldn't want to go to a festival. Bacher smirked, turning his back to Tas so he could grin to himself.  
"I never said I didn't," Bacher countered. "In fact, I wouldn't pass this up for any other event today. Normally festivals are fun in themselves, but I plan to… Spice things up." Tasslehoff smiled, steadying himself with his hoopak at their landing. Although he had no idea what Bacher planned, he optimistically decided that it sounded good.


	10. Chapter X: Payback

The small town of Tanith bustled with the activities of the festival to honor Zeboim. Held on the shore by the sailors, it wasn't what you would call the traditional festival. Most of the people attending could be sorted into two groups; the families that were native to the town, intending to enjoy their day off with fun, music, and food - and the sailors who were to pay tribute to Zeboim, doing so not out of worship but fear of her wrath. However, this did nothing to sully the high spirits and energy that buzzed through the air that day. While the sailors kept a dutiful eye on their tribute that would be set out to the sea at the sunset (it was a tiny boat filled with various gifts from the sailors), all the other people made merry.  
"Not too many kender here," Bacher noted with disappointment. "Is it too out of the way? I only see about… Three others. What's the case?" Tasslehoff shrugged.  
"I guess it wasn't exciting enough, or maybe most of them have been chased away already. I'd hate to have come all this way to get shooed, though."  
With a shrug and a wave of his hand, Bacher began to drift off towards where the music was coming from, "Well I doubt there's many kender clerics for Zeboim. She hasn't done much to deserve recognition, aside from birthing a war hero, but how does that credit her? If you ask me, it gives her a bad image, running around like that, having kids at the drop of the hat. Pah… And would you listen to that screeching? The poor fiddles! Being abused by such inept hands! I've got a lot of work to do here." Tasslehoff looked at Bacher with some confusion.  
"Work? What work? You don't seem to be very happy, Bacher. Maybe we should go check out the town itself, or travel a bit, if you're not enjoying yourself." Bacher, who was rolling up his puffed bardic sleeves and tuning his lute, smiled apollogeticaly.  
"I'm sorry," he laughed. "I know I don't seem to be enjoying myself, but I will. Let's just say that I have a score to settle and this is the opportunistic time to do so. Go mingle, Tas- err, Kalin. I'll join you shortly." Shrugging, Tasslehoff waved farewell to Bacher and skipped down the hil in beat with the music playing, careful not to fall flat on his face. Illusion or not, he would look silly doing that. Once situated at the bottom of the hill, he found a large, sun warmed flat rock to sit upon and rummaged in his pouches. Retrieving his worn one of Tanith, he set to work on updating it.  
Not much later afterwards, a human approached him. The man wasn't very tall or well built, but had an expression of sour distaste permanently plastered on his face. At the moment, the face was turned in dislike at Tasslehoff. Feeling someone watching him, he glanced up, and smiled brightly at the stranger.  
"Hullo there," he greeted. "My, that's an awful face. Have you eaten something that didn't agree with you or were you born looking like that?" The man growled and squared his shoulders, trying to look menacing and not succeeding. "If it's too painful for you to talk about, I suppose I could ask you what it is you find so fascinating about me."  
"You looked familiar," the man replied pointedly, his voice drawling with the accent of one who hasn't had nearly enough social contact to pronounce things clearly. Tasslehoff scratched his head and glanced at the other kender that were currently joined in a circle dance together.  
"I suppose that's altogether possible. Kender do tend to look a lot alike, sharing the same fashion ideas and all." The man shook his head and leaned closer to Tasslehoff, the smell of unwashed vegetables clinging to him. Tas pulled back involuntarily.  
"You look like the descreeption," the man drawled lazily, eyeballing Tas. "Cept you be older and taller than what them there bugs were telling us." Realizing what the man meant and thankful for his disguise Tas drew himself up and attempted to feign an air of indignation.  
Sniffing, something he regreted after a noseful of the man's awful smell, Tas replied, "I'm hurt. I can't believe how often I've been mistaken for him. Just because he's my second cousin's uncle doesn't mean that I'm him. Really, this is truly insulting!" Hoping that his deceit work, Tas could barely contain his grin as the man pulled back and grumbled something that could barely pass for an apology. "It's alright, I forgive you. Just tell me - what are these bugs after this guy for? And why is everyone looking for him?" The man caught his thumbs in his overall straps and rocked on his heels.  
"Thought everyone knew 'bout that," he mused. "But seeing as you're kender, you're prob'ly out of the gossip. These here giant bugs have been going from town to city and all sorts of places asking if any one of us has seen a male kender named Taffle-something and a winged female kender named Drinkfly or some silly name like that. They there bugs have told the cities that resist if they find the kender in their walls, the city will burn. Others, who have been more compliant, are bein' offered rewards."  
"And this one?" Tas squeaked. The man grinned his chipped yellow teeth maliciously at Tas.  
"Reward."  
Nodding, Tas understood better why there were so few kender here. Feeling awkward and having more than enough company of the man, he was more thankful than surprised to hear the music fall to a stop and a solo on a lute begin, the music enchanting the people to its source. Although he already knew where it came from, even Tas felt compelled to mill over to the growing circle around Bacher.  
It wasn't just that his ability to play the lute was good. Anybody could be good, and there were a few who could be extraordinary. But it wasn't just anybody who could play two melodies on one lute. Tas couldn't decide if the god was using a spell, had a special instrument, or if he was just that good. Remembering who it was that was playing, he settled on the last option. However good his playing, though, it couldn't cover up what his lyrics being sung where.  
  
"Zeboim, the flirtiest wench of the sea  
Ugly as a harpy; noisy as a banshee!  
Spends all her time hunting for men  
They all run way so she goes looking again!  
When she gets all angry tidle waves will break  
The temper of a bull; the eyes of a snake!  
How she got all these gifts I'll never say  
The only gift she wants is a man who'll stay."  
  
Cackling in glee, Bacher slung his lute over his shoulders with expert speed and took off running. The sailors, who had become entranced and outraged during the song, now ran freely after them in horrible anger. Their anger faded to terror as the ocean began to noticably grow choppy, and the skies stormy. In a fit of panic, they shoved their barge of offerings into the shore and ran to their homes.  
Tas watched as the rickety offerings barge rose with the waves, tossing and turning in Zeboim's fury. By now, almost everyone had cleared out, except for the kender who stood in wide eyed amazement.  
"That was the best song I've ever heard," one of the younger ones sighed in awe. "Dad, can we come back here next year?" The elder kender male grinned and nodded, urging his family to grab some of the snacks that had been abandoned and watch the festivities on their new picnic.  
"I wonder why everyone left," the female mused, nibbling on an hor's derve. "Maybe they thought it was going to rain." As the tidal wave of Zeboim's fury grew taller, the kender family crowded together murmuring sounds of amazement and joy. Tas was slowly making progress away from the tidal wave (although he did want to see it) to look for Bacher. Instead, Bacher found him.  
"Well, that was fun," he announced, appearing suddenly behind Tasslehoff. "Pity nobody got to see my other 'present' to Zeboim. What they were offering her was nice but I spiffed things up a bit. You know, some mud here, a bit of cow dung there, and you can't forget the dead fish." Tasslehoff stared at Bacher in open mouthed astonishment.  
"That's so mean," he sputtered. "Why?" Grinning, Bacher slung an arm around Tas's shoulder and began steering him away from the shore's direction.  
"Let's just say, the last time we met she showed her displeasure in my music in a fashion I didn't much care for… Poor drums." Shaking his head, Bacher picked up his pace a little once the growing rumble of water grew too ominous for his tastes.  
Tasslehoff glanced back at the kender family who was still awaiting the flood and felt a pang of envy. "What about them?"  
"Hmm?" Bacher checked over his shoulder, smiled and shrugged. "Oh, them. I believe they're the Traildancer family. Don't worry, they'll be fine." With a quick hand, he grabbed the map of Solace from Tas's backpack and began his teleportation mantra. Before Tas could raise a word of protest, the world began spinning. 


	11. Chapter XI: A World Apart

A/N: I apologize for any mispelled words, as my Spell Checker is on the fritz right now. If I find to many I'll re-upload the chapter when I get it working again.

Landing gently in Tanis's home, Bacher grinned and dusted himself off. "That wasn't so bad, now, was it? Rather invigorating if you ask me." Tasslehoff shook his long topknot out, having somehow acquired a mess of twigs and leaves along the way. "Wait… Stay there, I heard something." Hurrying, Bacher strode out the front door to a suspended walkway where some villagers stood watching the display. Down on ground level, grating voices mixed with authoritive ones. Bacher let out a low whistle… "I wouldn't have expected Himself to have a sense of humor, let alone one so twisted." Unable to contain his curiosity, Tasslehoff rushed out to join Bacher.  
Below them stood Tanis, Flint, Caramon, and other representatives of Solace. In front of them was about six giant termites. Struck with concern for the fate of Solace, Tas could only smile, very weakly, inwardly at the subtle dark humor.  
"Since you rrrefuse to aide us, let it be known to all of Solace that if discoverrry of the two kenderrr we seek is found herrre, we will destrrroy everrry trrree here, everrry home, and everrry inhabitant." Without a word more, the termites turned about and marched away systematically. It seemed to Tas that at that moment all of Solace let out a collective sigh. Behind him, leaning close to his right ear, a voice whispered that made his heart leap into his throat.  
"Oh, what have I done?"  
Without a second thought, Tas twisted around and threw his arms around his wife, holding her tightly against himself.  
"You'rehomeyou'rehomeyou'rehome," he murmured, playing with a wing. "I've missed you so much, Dreamflight." She shifted in his arms, pushing him away gently and smiling with a deep melancholy in her eyes. "Are you all right?"  
"Yes, Tas," she replied gently, casting a look at Bacher. Nodding back, Bacher tipped his hat and walked away, turning a corner around a house and disappearing from sight. "Come, Tasslehoff… I need to speak with you alone. I've already asked Tanis earlier if we could speak in his bedroom and he agreed." Taking his hand in hers softly, she steered him through the crowds, not drawing so much as a glance from anyone around them. He puzzled on this until they'd reached the bedroom, where he suddenly remembered the guises.  
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you remove the illusions?" he asked sweetly. "I think we should hit the road again. Not that I don't enjoy being in Solace, but… Well you understand, don't you?"  
With a fatigued smile, she nodded, raising her hand and speaking an arcane word. The illusions manefested themselves as material veils and fell off the two, littering the floor with wispy material the shriveled to nothingness before their eyes.  
With twinkling eyes and a huge grin, Tas held Dreamflight's hands and asked, "What is it you needed to talk about, my dear?" To his surprise, Dreamflight's sad look deepened to inutterable sorrow.  
"Listen very carefully, Tasslehoff… I want you to hear clearly every word I say and to not take your eyes off mine. Do you understand?" Curious, Tas nodded and kept his eyes firmly locked on her own. Sighing, she began speaking odd, twisted arcane words. "Addormio altum sepies mensis excito crastinus antemeridi…" As she repeated the line, he began to feel his eyes close, despite his best efforts. Soon, he slumped over in deep sleep, caught by Dreamflight's gentle embrace.  
Setting him on Tanis's bed carefully, she leaned over and kissed Tasslehoff on the forehead, whispering, "I'm so sorry it had to be this way… But I must keep you safe… Farewell, my beloved." Biting her lip so hard it drew blood, she crept out quietly and quickly. At the doorway she saw Tanis and Flint approaching, and so paused.  
"Dreamflight, you're back," Tanis said in a bit of startlement, although his tone still carried the grief and frustration from the meeting with the termites. "You seem anxious for someone who has just returned. Where's Tas? Is he back yet?"  
Her outstretched wings quivered, slightly, as she answered, "Tanis, Tasslehoff is on your bed, sleeping soundly from a stasis spell I cast on him. I didn't want to do it, but I need time to get away from him…" Hastily, she added, "For his protection. I'm going on a very dangerous mission; a very important one as well. In my pouch is a spell so powerful… Well I suppose you'll see how powerful when it's cast. But it needs rare and exotic components that I must retrieve. Once I collect them, I'll cast the spell. However, it's imperative that Tas is alive when I do so. So you see, I have to keep him here… Safe and unaware while I leave. It should wear off after six hours… When he does, please explain to him. Tell him I love him, and that I'm sorry…" She quickly brushed away a tear that escaped her eye. "I do this because I know he'd follow me no matter what I said. Farewell, Tanis, Flint. Thank you for taking care of him."  
"I'll tell him," said Flint in low, sad tones. "I'll break it to him easily. Go do whatever it is you need to do, lass, and be careful about it." Dreamflight smiled and gave Flint a quick hug, before turning and running off. Leaping off the walkway she spread her wings and glided away. As she flew, she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was wrong.  
  
When Tasslehoff awoke, he felt that there was something out of place. First, he checked his pouches. Nope, they were as they were supposed to be. Next he checked for anything abnormal with his body, but everything proved to be functional. Next he examined his hoopak, propped in the corner. Blinking, he couldn't remember putting it there, or why there were cobwebs on it. He scratched his head and realized that it wasn't the right corner and he wasn't in the right room. This was a guest room in Flint's house. He frowned, got up, and shook the cobwebs from his hoopak.  
"Where has Dreamflight gone to?" he wondered. "She was saying something, and then I felt drowsy… I must have fallen asleep and been brought here. I hope she's not upset." He stretched what felt like every stiff muscle in his body and rubbed his eyes, his stomach grumbling demandingly. "Hungry already?" Striding out of the room, he passed an open window. "Ah, some fresh spring air should wake me up…" He stuck his head out of the window and got a blast of icy cold air and the view of orange and red leaves hanging off the vallenwood trees.  
"What in the world is going on?" he wondered aloud, putting his hands on his hips and leering at the window. "Did I get the Device of Time Journeying and use it in my sleep?"  
"Tasslehoff, thank Reorx, you're alive!" Tasslehoff blinked and turned around to see Flint staring at him with a mixture of concern and joy. "You blasted kender, you had everyone worried sick!" Scratching his head idly with a wooden prong of his hoopak, Tas shot Flint a puzzled look. "Come on, come to Tanis's and we'll explain… At least, the best we can. Blast, I wish Dreamflight was here." Tas had been walking to Flint to journey over to Tanis's house, but halted at the last statement.  
"Where's Dreamflight?" he asked, worried. "Is she in trouble? I was just talking to, did she need to go get something? Did she say how long she would be gone?" Flint grabbed the kender by the wrist and began hauling him away bodily.  
"We'll explain it all the best we can," he assured Tas. "Just come with me." Unable to argue and stagger behind at the same time while on an empty stomach, Tas compliantly followed Flint into Tanis's common room, where he was greeted by much the same way. After the astonishment faded, Tas was let to sit and be fed before Flint cleared his throat and started his explanation.  
"You see, it began shortly after you spoke to Dreamflight," he started. "She said she'd cast a stasis spell on you so she could sneak off and fulfill a dangerous mission. She made it very clear you were to not go after her, on the account she needed you alive for the spell casting, whenever that was. So, before she left, she assured us it would only last for six hours, and then you would awaken. Six hours passed and you were still fast asleep. We thought you were just tired, and let you sleep the rest of the night. When you weren't awake the next day, Tanis tried to wake you, but nothing worked. We moved you to my guest bedroom where you continued to sleep until an hour ago."  
Tas frowned, staring between his two friends. "Then how long have I been asleep?" Flint and Tanis exchanged a look. "It's been a long time hasn't it?"  
Tanis took a deep breath and exhaled, slowly, "I'm not sure if she messed up the spell or what happened, but Tas, you've been asleep for six months." Tas looked at the bowl of porridge resting on his lap. Minutes ago he felt he could have eaten a minotaur. Now the idea of swallowing another spoonful seemed sickening.  
"I think he's going to faint," Flint muttered to Tanis in alarm. Tas shook his head and set the bowl down elsewhere, clasped his hands, and stared at his shoes. He felt a disturbance deep within him and a pain that was very profound in his heart.  
He remained sitting like that for several moments before asking in barely a whisper, "Have you heard from Dreamflight since then?" He heard Tanis take another breathe and knew that whatever answer they gave wouldn't be positive.  
"No," Flint replied bluntly, placing a hand on Tas's shoulder comfortingly. "But if it's any consolation, Tas, when she left she wanted us to tell you that she loved you; that this was for your own good. I don't think she was happy with what she did, so she wouldn't have left if she didn't have to." Rather than being cheered, Tas felt even more miserable and tears welled in his eyes.  
"Then she's in trouble," he said firmly. "A kender is never lost. I know she's not very well traveled but she could find her way back here if she wanted to. If she didn't want to leave in the first place, like you said, she'd have been back by now… Something is wrong, and I have no idea where she is, or even if she's s-still aliv-ve." A sob racked his frame and Flint stood back, a pitying look in his eyes.  
"We'll give you some space, lad," he sighed, taking Tanis by the arm and walking out of the room. Tas stared dolefully out a window, where a crisp orange leaf fluttered in his view. He had fallen asleep in a warm spring to awaken in a cold autumn. Silently, he shut his eyes and clenched a fist, shaking with the despair that coursed through his body.  
"You're a goddess," he thought, "so I'll pray that you come back to me, Dreamflight… Please, come back…"


	12. Chapter XII: Onward!

A/N: Short chapter. Just because I have to write something between one interesting event and the next. This is known as the boring fluff between.  
  
For an hour Tas sat, staring out the window while feeling miserable and trying to figure out how to solve his dilemma. He drummed his fingers against the window pane, cheek in hand, scouring his mind for any and all ideas. He tried to remember things she'd said that may be a clue to where she left, but this only left him depressed, and so he focused on all the places he would go if he was running away on a mission.  
"It would help if I knew what that mission was," he thought, stretching his muscles that were still stiff. "But staring out a window isn't helping my problem. I need to get out and start looking. If I'm lucky, something will hit me while I'm walking." Fixed with a new determination, he picked up his hoopak and strolled out of the door, pausing to take a piece of torn parchment from a pouch and scribbling a hasty note with a dark rock from another pouch. Satisfied that Flint and Tanis wouldn't be worried at his absense, he set out.  
He had just crossed past the vallenwood tree where the Inn of the Last Home was situated, satisfied in the knowledge that he was making the right decision and nothing would stop him, when he heard Caramon shout out to him from above.  
"Tas, wait!" Tasslehoff paused, hands on hips, slightly irritated that his Noble Quest (as he was now thinking of it as) was being interrupted, but quite curious to see what Caramon had to say. When Caramon had finally reached the bottom of the vallenwood, and was walking over slightly winded from the down-tree run, Tas gave him an amused smile and replied, "You probably shouldn't have shouted my name for all of Solace to hear. I am a fugitive, you know, and while I would normally be delighted to go for another wild bug ride as a prisoner, I am on a quest and would prefer to get on with it."  
Blushing, Caramon mumbled, "Sorry, Tas. Look, Flint and Tanis told us what happened with the spell and all. We're all relieved that you're all right, but where are you going so soon? You said a quest, what do you mean? I mean, you just woke up for a six month nap, Tas! Maybe you should make sure you're fine."  
Tas leaned on his hoopak and replied, "Of course I'm fine, Caramon. Kender are very resilient you know. Once I find Dreamflight, everything will be perfect. Now if you'll excuse me, I really should get going before someone sees me." He walked away, glancing over his shoulder at Caramon. Suddenly remembering that he had a long way to go with nobody with him, he added hopefully, "But if you're that concerned, I could wait for you to tell Tika you'll be leaving a bit and let you come with me."  
Caramon, having not expected this, was left flat footed a moment, blinking at Tasslehoff. While he had not had any intentions of dropping everything and leaving on a wild goose chase with a kender, he had heard the dire plead in Tas's voice. Also, Dreamflight did say that he had to be alive for her important spell to be cast, and Tas was a magnet for trouble… "Tika's not going to like this… So let's not take too long, all right?" Tas grinned, waiting for Caramon to rush to Tika and come back. Remembering that he was out in the open still, he stepped into the dark shadows of a vallenwood tree and waited.  
Moments later Caramon returned, glancing about for the kender. Tas crept out of his hiding place long enough to show himself to Caramon and beckon to him. Slipping back into the secrecy of darkness he snuck his way out of Solace, Caramon nonchalantly following, until both were past the gates.  
"Where do you plan on going?" Caramon asked after the two had travelled in relative silence for a while (if you could call the soft muttering of the kender, silence). Tas gazed up at the sky, thinking, "Well I had hoped something would come to me by the time I got this far. Maybe I haven't gone far enough."  
"What did you expect, for a pigeon to land on your shoulder and drop a map in your hand?" he asked skeptically. Tas still held his gaze to the sky.  
"No," he admitted, "but I think a dragon will do." Blinking, Caramon looked up just in time to jump back before an old golden dragon landed, bearing a befuddled mage on his back.  
Tas grinned from ear to pointed ear and gave a whoop of joy. "How did I know that if I hoped hard enough I would find you?" Fizban dusted his hat off and gave his dragon a scorning look that went unnoticed. Stepping off his mount with an regal bearing that was completely spoiled by his hat falling off his head, Fizban approached Tas and looked down at the smiling kender.  
"That was the result of something even I can't understand," he replied. "I was flying overhead, inspecting various villages and towns for any damage when I saw my sister's object of desire skipping down the road with Caramon."  
"I wouldn't say skipping," Tas interjected. "I'm not in a very skipping mood right now. I'm more on a noble quest mood." Fizban nodded distractedly. "But now that you're here, you can help me?" A quirk of the eyebrow. "Do you know where Dreamflight is?" Softness of the eyes…  
"I'm sorry," Fizban replied gently, softly. "I haven't been keeping a close eye on her lately. The war has been getting very complicated… Her work in helping me has been a tremendous value, and if she manages to pull this spell off, great things will happen for the world. I trusted she could look after herself…" Seeing Tas's downcast look, he added, "However, given the amount of time that's passed, I would be surprised if I had a good idea where she was currently, or at least, where she'll be near."  
"Where?" Tas and Caramon asked in unison.  
Fizban folded his hands and looked down at the two, "Well, given the components necessary for the spell casting, she'll likely be on the last one, which was a barb from a red scorpion in the Plains of Dust. If she has that, she should be nearing Silvensti by now." Caramon heaved a groan.  
"We've been going the wrong way then," he muttered. "And that's assuming she's where you say she is."  
"She is," Tas agreed. "I can feel it." Caramon gave him a sideways look.  
"If you can feel it, then why didn't you say anything before we started?" Tas grinned, shrugged, and spun on his heel to start walking in the opposite directions. Fizban grabbed his shoulder, gently.  
"Your life is too important to risk you going waltzing about Ansalon in search of her. Come with me, and you too Caramon. The faster we find her, the better, for I'm in dire need of that spell now." With shining eyes, Tas rushed to the flanks of the snoozing golden dragon and climbed on, followed by Caramon sitting in the back and Fizban resuming his seat. "Wake up!" He gave the dragon a prod, who opened his eyes with a snort and flapped his wings, nearly bucking Caramon off. "Now, stop that! We need to find Dreamflight."  
"Drewho?" the golden dragon mumbled, yawning. Fizban scowled.  
"Dreams." At this the dragon nodded, having a better understanding, and took off into the air, soaring on the currents southwards. 


	13. Chapter XIII: Reunited somewhat

With the wind whistling past them, the three riders gazed towards the setting sun as Silvenesti came into view. The sky was lit with fiery reds, oranges, deep yellows, and just a tinge of purple on the horizon. The golden dragon took this as a good omen and said so, lighting the hearts of the three men. Tasslehoff pushed back his long hair that whipped about his face and leaned over the side of the dragon, watching as the expansive forests of trees swept past them with each wingbeat.  
Hope swelled within him and he asked, cheerfully, "Do you see her yet?" This was not an unreasonable question, albeit silly considering their altitude, however it had been the thirty fifth time asked, and Caramon growled in annoyance.  
"If you ask me that one more time I'll give you the perfect seat to see for yourself," he threatened. Tas perked up, smiling brightly.  
"I would like that."  
Caramon leered and corrected himself, "Falling headfirst off the dragon." Tas's smile faded, slightly.  
"I wouldn't like that as much." Sighing, he sat up again and continued to watch the setting sun until his eyes grew watery. Many things were running through his mind at the moment: the joy of flight, the unease of unscertainty, the pain of loss, the wonder of speculation… But no feeling was as great as the shining rays of hope of recovery.  
"I think we should stop," he said softly, too softly to be heard by any normal person. However, Fizban was not normal and he turned to gaze at Tas's faraway look.  
"Why's that?"  
Tas turned his inward gaze outward, his keen eyes making a mental arrow into the heart of the forest. "She's there, in Silvenesti. If I'm wrong, you can leave me and I'll go the rest of the way on foot." Fizban continued to stare, as though waging a mental war within himself, until at last he turned to his dragon and gave a word of command. The golden dragon sped up.  
Crestfallen, Tas drooped - a mistake as it where, for when the great dragon made a suddenly sharp downward angle, he was nearly bucked off with the motion. Now alert and joyful, he looked with eager anticipation at the uncoming rush of aspen trees. Caramon held tightly to the dragon the best he could and cast Fizban a paniced look.  
"You're actually going to listen to him?" he asked, bewildered. Fizban nodded solemnly, not even flinching as the branches of the trees whipped past him. Caramon shook his head in amazement, though knew it was not his place to question the god… verbally.  
While the ground rushed to meet them, Tasslehoff noticed an odd phenomenom - none of the tree branches were being broken. It was as if they parted somehow to allow them passage. Before he could inquire, however, the dragon had landed (none too softly) and Fizban was already sliding off and beckoning the other two to follow suit.  
"This is where I must leave you," he announced. Chuckling softly at their surprised looks, he continued, "I'm sorry. I'm as concerned about the fate of my dear… Aunt as it where as the both of you are. But you must remember that there is a war being waged, and an unfair one at that. I have to set the stage for the spell that Dreams will be casting, assuming she is safe and I feel quite hopeful in the aspect that she is. I leave it up to the both of you, then, to bring her where she needs to go safely. Farewell to the both of you." After bidding Fizban farewell, Caramon and Tas stood for a moment looking around themselves. With the elven god departed, it seemed as though the forests themselves were annoyed at the presence of the two.  
Finally Tas hefted his hoopak and began walking on some unseen trail. "Well, let's get going then." Caramon reached and halted the eager kender with his big hand.  
"Tas we can't just go barging in there," Caramon protested. Tas frowned, hands on hips and looking rather annoyed himself.  
"And why not?" An arrow soundlessly flew past the two, passing between them and burying itself into a tree trunk with a resounding thunk.  
"That would be a good reason," Caramon said, grabbing the hilt of his sword. Another warning shot sailed dangerously close to his knuckles. He took heed and let go of his sword, looking around the forest for the attackers. "Come out of your hiding spots!" Two elves emerged, each carrying a knocked arrow in their longbows. The archers were obviously female but held the will and determination that any male elf archer does when faced with a threat. They spoke something in their native tongue.  
"We don't speak Silvenesti," Tas apologized in Common. In a moment of inspiration, he ventured, "Dto yoew spayeak kendeyerspayeak?" The two elves gave him a rather dead look.  
"We speak Common," one ventured, her Common sounding forced and rigid. "But not whatever drivel you just spouted." Tas seemed affronted but did not voice it. It became significantly harder to say you feel insulted with an arrow pointing at your neck while other things need to be done.  
"Why are you here?" the other demanded to know, leering at the two. Caramon kept his hands up slightly, so as not to offend the two.  
"We're here in search of a friend," he explained. "She's a kender, the wife of my friend here in fact. She has wings, so it's rather hard to miss her." The two archers exchanged a look. "If she's not here, kindly tell us so and we'll gladly leave…" The archers stepped closer, slowly, beginning to circle around. Caramon and Tas strained to keep an eye on them without moving.  
"You mean the one that Takhisis's minions are searching for," one said. It was not a question, it was a statement. "Yes, she is here." Tas nearly leapt for joy. "She is our prisoner until those wretched insects come." Tas nearly choked on his swallowed shout of glee. "If this kender is her husband, then he is the other that they are searching for, and you both must come back with us where you will be held until retrieved."  
The situation seemed rather desperate, Caramon thought, as they were marched through the wilderness towards wherever in Silvenesti they were being taken. Therefore, it was of the biggest puzzlement to him as to why Tas had a huge grin on his face and was keeping very compliant.  
"What are you grinning at?" Caramon muttered from the corner of his mouth softly. Tas merely smiled more and opened his mouth to reply.  
"Keep quiet!" one of the archers ordered. Tas promptly shut his mouth again and settled for winking consecutively until the archers gave him an odd look.  
  
When they had reached the settlement, it took Tas much restraint not to rush out and begin his search for Dreamflight. He occupied himself in the revelry of knowing that Dreamflight was assuredly alive.  
"Where is he?" he asked quickly as soon as they had stopped. "Take me to her!" One archer departed to speak to a higher official as the other remained, looking very weary with the kender. However, she indulged him with an answer.  
"You will most likely not be taken to her, as she's being 'held' with the healer," the archer explained. "You and your giant companion here shall be occupying a separate facility." Tas drooped, worried again.  
"What's wrong with her?" he asked anxiously. "She's not sick or hurt, is she?" The archer looked at him oddly. "No?"  
With a hint of confusion, the archer replied, "If you are her husband, as you claim, then surely you should know." Tas blushed to his ears in embarrassment and shame.  
"We have been separated for a long time," he muttered sheepishly. The archer's face flashed with comprehension and she said no more for a few moments.  
Then, quietly, she muttered, "You will likely get to see her eventually." This brightened Tasslehoff's spirits and he began to look at being a Silvenesti prisoner optimistically. The two were marched off to a tent-like structure with guards placed around it. There, Caramon's wrists and ankles where bound and he was tied to the living trunk of a strong sapling growing within the structure. Tas's wrists were bound (very tightly) but his ankles left free and his rope intended to tie him to the sapling was used as a leash instead.  
"You have been allowed to visit the other kender briefly," his elven 'jailor' explained while leading him to another building. Tas thanked him profusely, even after being shoved rudely forward and nearly falling into the floor of the building. The light here was very low and there were cots and beds where the sick and wounded lay. In a far corner was a much smaller body, curled within a mess of feathers.  
"Dreamflight!" he shouted, causing stirs and groans from the infirmed elves. The healer looked down at Tasslehoff scornfully.  
"She cannot hear you," the healer explained, guiding Tas very slowly towards the cot. "She was suffering pains that seem only alleviated in sleep, so we gave her potent sleeping herbs. You may look upon her, however." Tas pulled free of the healer's gentle touch and kneeled next to the cot.  
Dreamflight's eyes showed through her wings that seemed to form a protective cocoon about her. They where shut smoothly with the peace of sleep. Tas took his bound hands and used them together to caress the dirty disheveled feathers.  
"She looks different somehow," he mused. "She feels different as well. Could you pull back her wings, please? I'd like to see the rest of her." As the healer bent to oblige, Dreamflight's eyes flew open and she looked about herself with far more alertness than one who had been just sleeping should be capable of.  
"Tas?" she whispered softly, her eyes now peering into his face as though she did not recognize him. "No… It can't be… Can it? Tas, is it really you?"  
"Dreamflight," he sighed, continuing to pet her wings. Her eyes misted over and she exclaimed softly, opening her wings and pulling him against herself. He shut his eyes, relief and love washing over him, and rest his head against her chest as she smoothed his topknot lovingly. "Oh gods, I was worried… You know, falling asleep, only to wake up six months later without the slightest idea of what's going on is really not the most pleasant experience. I highly doubt I would do it again, if given the chance." Dreamflight pushed him back, slightly, with a horrified look upon her face.  
"Six months?" she repeated. "You mean six hours." Tas shook his head. "Six… months? The spell?" She shut her eyes and groaned with the passion of one who has found they'd made the mistake far, far too late for redemption. However, the healer mistook this and was by her side, checking her over.  
"I believe that's enough shock for one day," she began, but Dreamflight pushed the caring hand away and scrunched closer to Tasslehoff.  
"I'm so sorry," she whispered to him, the tremor of a whimper faintly echoing in her voice. "Please, Tas, you must know I only meant for it to last six hours-" He placed his finger against her lips until she silenced, then embraced her again.  
"We can always argue about it later," he murmured. "Please, though, you have to tell me everything. Why did you do it? Where did you go? What's this spell I keep hearing about? How did you get captured? Why are you here, being tended to instead of tied up like the rest of us?"  
The healer interjected, sounding just a touch insulted. "We are not heathen or barbaric. We tend to our prisoners with as much care as our own people, at least, when it is wise to do so." Tas gazed at Dreamflight and the worry returned.  
"I don't understand," he said, frowning. Dreamflight attempted to sit up, but was cautioned against doing so. With a sigh, she laid on her back and let her wings unfurl. Tas gasped softly and looked Dreamflight from head to toe. "It really has been that long, hasn't it?" Hands on her stomach, Dreamflight stared unseeing at the ceiling. An awkward silence descended as Tas felt the shame radiate from her.  
"It is time for you to go," she said severely to Tas, taking his hands again and preparing to pull him away. "She must sleep again." The healer dragged Tas away, who was protesting vehemently and trying to pull his bonds away while watching Dreamflight stare at the ceiling. Before he was pulled out of sight, he caught in the corner of his eye Dreamflight turn her head towards him and mouth the words, "Tonight." 


	14. Chapter XIV: Escape! Again!

Tas stared thoughtfully at the fruit and leafy dinner that their captors had given them. Caramon had grimaced over the lack of meat, but ate regardless. Tas had found he had little stomach this night, so charged were his nerves. It was as if every part of him tingled in anticipation. But for what? Something tonight… He shifted his gaze to the ropes tying both of them to the sapling. He normally would have scoffed over such a pitiful way to keep prisoners, until he'd found that the ropes were enchanted thrice over. Once, to make them strong as iron; once to make them unable to be severed; and as a finishing touch, once to make them constrict should the person bound by them struggle. After nearly losing complete circulation in his wrists twice, Tas had spent a better portion of the night contemplating escape.  
  
He leaned his cheek against the tree and wondered idly what it is he was in anticipation for. Perhaps that great spell everyone was talking about… Glaring irritably, he wished he had a counter spell for the ropes. Sighing, he peeled off a piece of dead bark miserably, and wished that Paladine, or any god for that matter, would be willing to give him a favor. But, then, the gods had been giving the kender couple many favors, and he wouldn't be surprised if they were beginning to get sick of it.  
  
Tasslehoff sighed, leaning his forehead against the sapling's trunk. He shut his eyes slowly, his hands holding the cord that bound him. He was a very hopeful kender, but at times like this, he wondered where hope was to be found. After much deliberation, he concluded that it would only be found in himself. And so, he murmured a prayer directed to nobody. Simply empty wishing… "Please," he whispered softly, "let there be a way…" He felt something brush over his topknot and down his back. Startled he opened his eyes and glanced at Caramon, who was staring oddly at the kender. "Did you do that?"  
  
Caramon shook his head, still staring. "Tas… I think that tree moved." Tas twisted around, staring at a low branch that moved, only slightly, as though stirred by the wind. "But that's preposterous." Tas's heart felt ten times lighter and he smiled.  
  
"No, Caramon," he corrected, "nothing is truly preposterous. Trust me, I've seen lots of things in my life… Two lives… Whatever!" Turning back around, he faced the tree and licked his lips, wondering how one did talk to a tree. "Please, if you really can understand me, could you let us go? I need to get to my wife. There's something urgent that must happen tonight. Maybe, since you're a part of the earth, you have a deeper understanding about Big Things. If that's the case, give us a hand. Er, limb." For long tense moments, nothing happened. Tas sighed, releasing the breath that he had been holding. It had seemed like such a good idea… And then the branches began moving, all at once. They began lifting upwards, flattening themselves against the tree, until finally the tree had become straight as a rod. Tas pulled the loop around the tree experimentally upwards, finding to his delight that it would move. Frowning, he noticed that the top was far too high for him to slip the loop off of.  
  
"I think there's a size problem here," he stated simply, studying the tree top and wondering just how to remedy the situation. Caramon grinned, having a solution ready. He picked up the surprised kender and placed him on his shoulders. From there, Tas caught on and quickly pulled his loop after him and over the tree, followed by Caramon's. Although their wrists were still tied together, at least they had the freedom of movement. Caramon, gleeful now, tried to take a big step, and having forgotten the cords around his ankle, fell heavily. Tas had the foresight to leap off his shoulders before he was crushed. Both of the men now lay sprawled on the ground, trying to figure out a way through this dilemma.  
  
"Think I should ask again?" inquired Tas, casting a glance at the tree. There was no need. Slowly, while the branches were spreading out again, roots rose from the ground, slithering between their ankles and resting over the cords. There was a pause, where perhaps a creature who could speak would have said something. Caramon and Tas braced themselves, and the roots snapped down hard enough to break the bindings. Amazed, the two sat up and stared at their ankles in wonder.  
  
"The roots aren't retreating," Caramon pointed out, rubbing the rope burns on his ankles and pulling the remnants of the material away. Tas grinned and held his wrists close to the ground, expecting what was to come. Again, the roots snapped through his bindings and he was free. Caramon followed suit and soon both where standing, flexing circulation back into their limbs.  
"Thank you," Tas said to the three, a grin on his face. The tree rustled, and then was still. Caramon looked around for his sword, found the weapon propped in a far corner, and retrieved it. Tas grabbed his pouches and hoopak, holding them protectively a moment before putting everything back in its proper place. Caramon looked around, gripping his sword's hilt with reassurance.  
  
"We'd better go get Dreamflight before they notice anything," he advised. Tas nodded, already creeping with expert stealth to the medical tent. Behind him, Caramon tried not to make much noise, but to the kender's sensitive ears, he might as well have been declaring their depature at the top of his lungs. Imagine what the receptive elf ears would hear.  
  
"Caramon," he whispered, "stay right where you are. You're making too much noise. I'll go get her." Caramon looked dubious.  
  
"Can you carry her, Tas? She may need it." Tas cast him a semi-dark look. Caramon held his hands off in warding. "Okay, okay. Sorry, she's your wife."  
  
"She is," Tas replied firmly, creeping into the medical tent. Within, he had to pause to let his eyes adjust to the deeper darkness. Once that was done, however, he could see the cots holding their patients. Everyone appeared at rest, sleeping calmly as Solinari's light cast a few rays into their abode. Tas tiptoed softly to Dreamflight's cot. She lay on her back, hands folded across her chest and her wings held up against her sides like barriers. Tas reached out and touched her cheek gently. Her eyes flew open, though not startled, as if she had been expecting him. She smiled and sat up, hugging him tightly.  
  
"I knew you'd break free," she whispered. He smiled and nodded. "Quickly, we must leave. Takhisis' escort will arrive at dawn tomorrow, so we cannot be here. I need to be in Panthalas by then." Tas gave her a pleading look.  
  
"That's a three month journey from here," he whispered. "How do you expect to be there by dawn?" Dreamflight smiled gently and pat his hand.  
  
"Remember that anything is possible if you believe," she assured him. "Just get me out of Qualinesti and I'll do the rest." Tas sighed but argued no further. It wouldn't do anyone good to do so. Instead, he slipped an arm behind Dreamflight, helping her to sit up and easing her off the cot. She stood, sagged in surprise a moment, and then stood tall, nodding. Together they slowly slipped out of the medical tent. Outside, Caramon grinned and beckoned. He held his sword aloft, ready to use it at the first sign of danger, as the three of them hurriedly made their way to the forests.  
  
Once within, Tas knew it would be about an hour, maybe two, before they found themselves out of the confusing woods. He became dismayed when Dreamflight halted after only twenty minutes, panting.  
  
"It's so hard," she groaned, falling to her knees. "It wasn't this hard going towards Qualinesti… Why is it so difficult to leave?" Tas had no replied, and looked at her pityingly.  
  
"We're not going to get out of here by dawn at this rate." Her eyes widened in fear and she struggled to stand. "I'm sorry, Dreamflight. I just don't know how you plan to achieve this."  
"I do," rumbled Caramon, taking two big steps over to the kendermaid and scooping her up like a child. She scowled at him, but a glower silenced her. Soon the three of them were making swift progress through the forest.  
  
Tired, hungry, and weary, Tas and Caramon more than once felt the urge to stop and rest, but never did so. Caramon pressed on because of the load he bore, and Tas because of some strange urging in his heart. He didn't understand it, but the feeling of anxiety and anticipation had bloomed within him, and expanded until he though it was his own life he was running for. After an hour of this, they reached the borders, and rested gratefully. Dreamflight shivered, but smiled up at the lights of the three moons.  
  
"The children of my nephews and niece smile at me," she murmured, her gaze unfocused. "They bid me speed and courage, and you two as well… You shall need it…" She suddenly shut her eyes tight, head lowered, and held herself. Wings wrapped around herself protectively and Caramon drew his sword, looking around in half expectation of some monster's approach. A moment later, Dreamflight stood, calm and relaxed. This unnerved Caramon even more but he said nothing.  
  
"Now tell us how you're going to get to Panthalas before dawn," Caramon said, putting his sword back in its rightful place. She smiled, her hand reaching into the pouch with the small white feather. Tas's mind recalled the contents - the platinum scale, the black talon, and the white parchment sheet - and wondered what she was planning.  
  
She brought the platinum scale out, held it in her hands, caressing it. She brought the object to her lips and whispered a single word, "Accresco." Quickly she tossed the scale as hard as she could, then clasped her hands and wait. The three stood in silence for a moment, and then their eyes caught the moons' lights reflecting off metal that was growing.  
  
"What is that?" Tas whispered, awed. They continued to watch the metamorphosis until looming before them was a metallic dragon. It moved with all the grace of melted silver, but the quickness of a flying blade.  
  
"It is a part of Paladine," Dreamflight replied, smiling fondly at the dragon. "It's called Platidine. Fitting. Come now, climb upon it. It will bear us to Panthalas by dawn." She took steps towards the dragon and fell in her exhaustion. Caramon picked her up, gently placing her and then Tas on the back of the dragon before climbing upon it himself.  
  
"To Panthalas!" Dreamflight cheered, giddy with freedom and hope. Tas smiled and cradled her head in his lap and arms, the only one to take note that her eyes nearly closed in fatigue. He himself felt ready to drop. Dreamflight smiled at him, noting in him what he saw in her.  
  
"We may sleep," she sighed softly, grateful for the peace. "Nothing will attack us, and we will not fall… We are as safe upon Platidine as we would be in the arms of Mishakal herself…" And with that, her eyes shut and the lines of both joy and sorrow eased from her face. Tas lay back, finding the metal to be unusually soft and warm, and he slumbered as well soon after hearing Caramon's lumbering snore.


	15. Chapter XV: On the Eve of Destruction

Tas awoke first, his head cradled behind his arms, and the cloudless night sky's stars shining on his face. He rubbed his eyes and tried to discern how much time until dawn based off the moons. From what he could see, it was about an hour longer. He glanced to the side, trying to see the landscape. It flew by too quickly for him to even begin to wonder where they were at. So, instead, he stared at the stars again, smiling to himself. He had begun to feel the flickers of his old self return to pierce the strange anxiety of before. He was cheered, happy to suddenly be looking at the world through his old optimistic eyes while being mesmerized by his favorite constellations.

Near his legs, Dreamflight stirred. He sat up and smiled at her, upside down. She blinked her eyes a few times and smiled back. "Oh, you're awake." He merely grinned. "What so funny?"

"Nothing," he replied. "Just enjoying a ride on the back of a metallic dragon with the world's most beautiful kendermaid on my lap." Dreamflight blushed, shut her eyes again and rested her cheek against his knee. He played with her wing, as he was so fond to do. "Can I ask you a few questions?" Dreamflight smiled, and opened her eyes, nodding. He grinned and leaned back to gaze around the blurring scenery. "Well, first a happy question. Do you think it will be a boy or a girl? I mean, we didn't have much time to talk about names, raising, and things like that. Maybe you have, since you've had six months to think about it. Personally, I feel like I'm being tossed into the middle of this whole parenthood thing." He pat her soothingly at her look of alarm. "Not that I'm complaining. Personally, I enjoy just diving into things. It always makes them more interesting. But back to the question..."

"It will be a girl," she sighed softly. "It was last time." Tas beamed in fatherly pride and clasped his wife's hand. "Don't worry about the name, it'll come to me at the right time... Next question?"

Tas sighed and sat up, watching Dreamflight carefully for her reaction. "Why didn't you want me to come with you? You know, that rather hurt. Don't you trust me? And don't tell me it was for my own safety. You know me better than that." He shook a finger scoldingly at her. "I've been in very dangerous situations before and I'm perfectly fine and alive. Well, I suppose whatever it was that killed me in the past doesn't count, but other than that, I've always come out alive! I would know it if I hadn't." Dreamflight sighed, averted her gaze.

"I guess that's something I learned from the Gods of good," she mused. "They strive so hard to shelter and protect the things they love, and I made that same mistake." She grinned at him, the expression made humorous by her still upside down positioning to him. "Forgive me?" Tas chuckled and nodded. At this point, Caramon was stirring and Dreamflight sat up and scoot back to sit alongside Tas. She leaned against him, he slipped an arm around her, and the two saw a distant glow in the direction they were heading.

"One more question," Tas declared suddenly, his eyes back on the sky. Dreamflight, amused, tilted her head inquiringly. "When you were up there, I watched the skies for a new constellation, that way I knew which one was yours but I never saw one. Why not?" Dreamflight smiled to herself, hugged her knees against her stomach as far as they would go.

"Oh, it's up there," she assured him. Tas craned his neck, eyes darting from each constellation to the next.

"Where?" He was genuinely puzzled over this. "Point it out to me!" She grinned and made a sweeping gesture with her hand.

"All the darkness between the stars is my brother," she explained. "All the lights of the stars are me." Tas thought about this, having nothing to divert his attention away from the ideas forming in his head.

"Why are you here and yet the stars still shine?" he asked as Caramon gave a great sigh and woke up.

Dreamflight shut her eyes again, reveling in the peace of the moment. "Because, Tas, all creatures still dream... The stars will go out the day nobody believes in anything anymore, because when that day comes, there will be nobody left on the world." Tas found this rather disturbing at first, but, optimistically decided that at least now he would have something to let him know when the end of the world came. Again.

"Are we there yet?" Caramon yawned, stretching. Dreamflight pointed at the direction they were heading.

"The dragon's slowing down," she pointed out. "And there's a city up ahead. We're just abo-ah!" She gasped, curled, her wings covering her protectively and shuddered. Tas looked at her in concern, as did Caramon. Their concern grew when the dragon began rocking and flying less steadily.

"What's wrong?" Tas asked, looking for something to hold on to as the Dragon started to descend to the ground at an alarming rate. Caramon was looking for some way to control the dragon, though he wasn't sure what he was looking for – reigns?

"Noooo," Dreamflight moaned, shivering. "Not now, it's too soon!" Tas, still quite unaware what was meant by that, looked even more bewildered. However, deep in the mind of Caramon's memory, a phrase drifted across his thoughts, like the touch of a feather, from his late past.

"Tas, I think we better get to Panthalas, and quickly," Caramon urged his friend. He twisted around to Dreamflight, who was beginning to recover from her spasm. The dragon began to experience less turbulence, but did not cease its downward plunge.

"What's wrong with this thing?"

Dreamflight looked around herself, slightly disoriented but no longer in pain. "I can't concentrate on keeping the spell that animates it going. It's trying to land so we don't fall from mid-air." As she finished her sentence, there was a jolting as the dragon skidded to a stop in the ground and vanished completely, letting the three tumble to the ground. Caramon stood quickly and looked to see where they were. Tas, who was rubbing a bruise on his backside, gauged distance.

"We're not far from Panthalas," he declared. "Five minutes walking. Can you do that?" Dreamflight shook her head. He sighed. "Please?" She hesitated. "Pretty please with powdered sugar on top?" She smiled, and held out her hands to be helped up. He obliged and she leaned upon him. Both still felt oddly optimistic.

"Let's go," she said through clenched teeth. "I've got a mission for you two."

It was a little less than an hour's walk, and soon Dreamflight found herself slipping here and there, relying mostly on Tas's strength to keep her upright. Ominous clouds gathered, making the night darker still, and thunder rumbled in the distance. Once reaching the gates, the watchmen had to squint to see them.

"Who goes there?" one demanded. Caramon and Tas stared at the shut and fortified door bleakly. "You'd best find shelter elsewhere. We're preparing for a war here!" Inspiration struck Tas suddenly.

"My big friend here has come to be a mercenary to Panthalas's soldiers!" he called back, blinking as it began to rain. The two watchmen hesitated, knowing they would need every sword possible for the battle they faced.

"No kender allowed!" Dreamflight sucked her breath in sharply, glaring at where she thought the watchmen were. Tas sighed, holding her tighter, and finally replied after a moment of thought.

"I'm going to help fight too," he replied. The watchmen, under ordinary circumstances, would have laughed, but this was a grave situation.

"Fine," one grumbled. "You can join the kender rank we have going. The big man will be placed near the front. I hope you brought your own swords!" The gates swung open just enough to permit them through. Tas and Caramon, with Dreamflight in tow, hurried through. Now the watchmen could get a good look at who they faced. One whistled upon facing Caramon.

"I'm sure glad we didn't turn you away," he muttered. The other watchmen was eyeing Tas closely, and looking at some concern at Dreamflight.

"What's wrong with her?"

"I need to get to a room," Dreamflight gasped. "A midwife too. Please let these two accompany me until I'm settled." The watchmen fidgeted uncomfortably before nodding. Caramon and Tas helped lead Dreamflight down a street, past onlooking eyes. She suddenly pulled away from them, leaning into the dark shadow of a building.

"I can't do this," she whimpered. "I can't cast the spell... But I know who can..." With a shaking hand, she untied a glittering pouch from her belt, synched it tight, and handed it to Caramon. Next she pulled a feather from her wing, with barely a wince as it hardly compared to how she felt at the moment, and pressed it against her forehead. With a whisper, she pulled it away and golden markings glowed upon it. She handed this to him as well.

"Take this to Raistlin. Tell him to read the spell. If he's willing to cast it, tell him to push the feather upon his mind to learn the necessary information on casting it." Next, she reached into another pouch and brought out a crystalline vial of murky white water and held it into Tas's palm. "I won't be there to take care of you Tas, so I'm going to give you this... It's very special, and... I'm not sure what will happen if you use it. It's like a polymorph potion, only stronger. If you find yourself in dire trouble, and _only_ in dire trouble, drink this and believe."

"Believe?" repeated Tas, blinking inquiringly while stuffing the vial in his own pouch. She nodded.

"If you believe it, it will come to pass," she sighed, wincing. "It's the water from my pool of seeing in my home, up there." She pointed at where there would be stars. "Be careful, Tas..."

"I don't want to leave your side," he whispered after Caramon had bid them farewell and left. Dreamflight clasped his hands in hers and smiled serenely at him.

"I will be safe," she sighed. "It's you I worry about...Go to victory, Tas, and return to a family." She kissed his cheek and gave him a gentle shove. Reluctantly, he walked away, casting long backwards glances at her. The last he saw, she was hurrying as fast as she could to the Temple of Paladine.

Tas returned, as promise, grinning up at the watchman as if to say 'I told you so'. The watchman ignored the look, pointing him to a closed door with more guards around it.

"Get your weapons and armor in there," he instructed. "What's left. Tell the guard that Bran recruited you to the Kender Battalion." Saluting, Tas spun around on his heel and marched to get his things. The guards did not seem pleased with the new recruit but let him pass regardless. Tas took anything he could carry, reluctantly trading in his hoopak for a sword. Marching out, someone clumsily in the oversized armor, the guards led Tas to a small group of other kender, who were holding their random weapons proudly and chatting excitedly.

"Hullo there," one greeted him, a young male who held a spear in his right hand and a buckler shield in the other. "What's in your pou-, er, well I guess none of us have pouches right now, eh? What's your name?"

"Tasslehoff Burfoot," Tas greeted the kender. "And the rest of you?" He only counted five other kender in their 'batallion'. An elder kender, brandishing a glaive, introduced himself as Zumbro Swordsling. The young male that had greeted Tas was Glavil Capturescene. A young female kender standing close to him with a morning star she had to drag to move next to her, introduced herself as Marwen Capturescene. Finally was a very quiet young kender, keeping surprisingly quiet and secluded, that Glavil initiated as Limbo Quicktongue.

"Why is he so quiet?" Tas inquired, eyeing the silent kender. Glavil sighed.

"Well, he's an excellent linguistics," he explained. "He can speak just about any language you can name, only... He can't speak Common." Tas blinked. As far as he knew, everyone spoke Common. Well, if he couldn't speak Common, there was one thing he probably could speak...

"Sowhey cyant eyew spayeak Common?" he inquired in Kenderspeak. Limbo gave a great sigh and stepped closer, the light giving Tas a good look at him.

"Nyevah wa' taught," he sighed. "Tet'ad ah 'avnt rewm dto learn eny'more lan'weges." Tas nodded, patting Limbo on the back.

"What about you?" Glavil inquired, peering curious at Tas. "We saw you come in with a giant of a human and what I think was another kender. Did it have wings?"

Tas smiled faintly, nodding. "The big man is Caramon, one of my best friends who is here to protect me. The other was a kendermaid, my wife. And yes, she has wings..." Tas sighed and slumped, gazing in the direction of where he had last seen Dreamflight. "I miss her already. I hope she'll be okay."

Glavil pat Tas comfortingly on the back. "What was her name? Why do you worry after her? She's probably gone somewhere safe."

Marwen intoned suddenly, "She seemed in pain." Tas nodded glumly.

"Her name is Dreamflight," he explained. "She's having our first child right now." Suddenly he perked up, smiling proudly. "First. Gee, I wish I had been a firstborn during a great and huge battle... I'll have to tell her how lucky she is once she's actually born." Zumbro grinned, spreading his already aged face into a mess of wrinkles.

"You'll have to make sure you come out of this alive first," Zumbro warned. "You say that Caramon fellow is supposed to guard you? Well, chances are he'll be very busy on his own. Rely on us, kiddo. We'll make sure you get to see your wife and kid. Promise."

"Promise!" intoned the other kender couple. After a moment's translation, Limbo grinned and chimed, "(Random language for promise)!" The kender all rest a hand on each other's, nearly poking each other with their weapons. It was then that the first warning sounded.


	16. Chapter XVI: Creation and Chaos

At the same time, Caramon was running towards the Shuriken Grove with the items in hand. He had little to know idea on how Dreamflight expected any of this to work. He had no charm to get into the grove to see his brother, and after that, he was quite sure that Raistlin would refuse to cast the spell. Knowing his brother, he would want lots of time to study the spell. Raistlin was not one to rashly rush into any situation.

Sighing, Caramon crept as close to the grove as he dared go. He stood there, staring into the dark forest and wondering what to do next. The grove's powerful magic was making him feel repulsed and frightened. He took a step back involuntarily while thinking.

"Raist?" he called out, very softly. "I don't know what to do... I'm supposed to give you this spell, and then go fight as a mercenary for Panthalas... I don't even know what we're fighting. I don't... I don't..."

"Understand?"

The voice sounded as though Raistlin were standing right behind him, and indeed Caramon whirled about to check. Seeing nobody, he began to suspect the trees, or at least whatever lived (if you could call it that) in there. "Come on, you may pass through the grove. We haven't long." Caramon was dumbstruck. How could Raistlin have heard him from here, on the edge of the woods? He was powerful, yes, but... Wasn't there any limits to that power? "Come on, Caramon!"

With a weary sigh, Caramon trudged forward. He had been running off some store of adrenaline for some time now, but the lack of sleep and good food, as well as the physical exertion of the Qualinesti woods were taking a toll on him. And now he was expected to go fight in a war.

"Why me?" he muttered under his breath, marveling slightly at the ease he was having in traversing the woods. It would appear Raistlin had somehow permitted him through from afar.

Not long after the brisk walk did Caramon see Raistlin with his hands folded, standing just on the other side of the gates to the Tower of High Sorcery. Looking stolid and unamused, he held out a thin fingered hand through the bars.

"The spell, please," Raistlin requested. Caramon gaped, and Raistlin thrust his hand farther. Gingerly, Caramon set the parchment in Raistlin's hand. The hand snapped back and Raistlin's hourglass eyes read quickly through the lines of arcane words and to the note at the bottom.

"How did you know?" Caramon asked. "About all this?" Raistlin sighed softly and glanced up from his reading.

Dolefully, he replied, "I know things that you can't even comprehend. Not because of magic, but because of a arrogant little goddess who has only caused trouble up until this point." Looking back at the parchment, he added in a low mutter, "I was wondering when she'd finally make herself useful." Caramon was perplexed.

"Takhisis?" he ventured. Raistlin waved a dismissing hand. Sighing, Caramon could only wait for him to finish. After reading every line carefully and quickly, Raistlin folded the spell with utmost care and gave a weak laugh.

"Ah, how did she know this would allure me?" he sneered. Lightning quick, his mood changed and he suddenly became very weary looking. Holding out a slender hand, he requested the components and feather. When Caramon gave them to him, he quickly snatched the feather and pressed it up against his forehead, where it turned to ash in his hands.

"What does the spell do?" asked Caramon. "I've come all this way, thrown myself into another war... I'd like to at least know what I'm fighting for." Raistlin looked over the components, a familiar light dancing in his eyes.

"It will create, Caramon," he said simply. "At a great cost, of course. But you have no need to worry about that. You simply need make sure I'm not attacked during the spellcasting." Raistlin looked around himself, checking for anything he would want to bring with him. Seeing nothing other than his staff, he picked up the staff and held the bag of components in his hand while pulling Caramon to him with the other.

"What do you mean?" Caramon asked. He was thoroughly confused about the whole situation.

Raistlin, who was about to launch into a teleport spell, paused and replied quite calmly, "There is a noise. I guess you can't here it. It is the first call of enemy sighted. The war has started without us, and we must make haste." Caramon opened his mouth to protest, but they were already gone.

* * *

The rain fell. Where there were torches, steam began to rise, and the already low visibility fell to almost nothing. Clerics inside the Temple of Paladin were rushing to and from, preparing for the imminent battle. Most would be helping to heal and tend to the sick and wounded, while others were going to battle using their prayers and faith. As the clerics of all races rushed about, two kender clerics sat just inside of the building, staring out into the darkness. They were two female kender, old friends, named Fianna and Cynda. Fianna sat, hands clasped on her lap, kicking her dangling feet against the step that they were sitting on. Cynda kept fidgeting, looking first in front of her, then behind at the excitement. She sighed, deeply.

"They told us to sit and be quiet," Fianna reminded Cynda. "And that's just what we'll do, if it means helping in the battle."

"I would have liked to have helped in fighting," Cynda muttered, placing her chin in her hands. "Or even help the sick and hurt. Anything is better than just sitting here and watching the rain." Both kender sighed simultaneously and continued to stare drearily into the darkness.

"Do you suppose this is what it will be like if evil wins?" Fianna reflected. "What if we lose?" Cynda hummed aloud, thinking on this. As she thought, she fidgeted even more.

"I certainly hope not," she finally replied solemnly. "If that were the case, I'm afraid I couldn't sit still." Fianna pat her friend's hand comfortingly.

"Don't worry," she said soothingly. "Paladine will protect us. He always does." Cynda nodded and leaned back, placing her hands behind her head and resting against the pillar just to the side of her. She sighed and listened to the first warning call.

"Maybe he'll be nice enough to give us something to do on top of everything else," Cynda hoped. Suddenly, something caught her keen eyes. She squinted, trying to see in the murky blackness of a rain filled night. "Do you see something? I think someone's out there!"

* * *

Raistlin teleported them just outside the gates, much to the astonishment of all the soldiers. Caramon stood next to him, protectively, hand on his sword. What he saw in the distance caused that hand to tremble, slightly.

Massed on the horizon was what looked like the Dark Queen's entire bug and human army. The sky hummed from the wings of all the flying insects – fireflies, bees, moths, locusts, and flies. The ground could be heard rumbling, an undertone of base to the buzzing, from the land insects – beetles, cockroaches, centipedes, spiders, and ants. Finally, there was the slightest shaking underground, though Caramon could not see what was making it. He looked at Raistlin apprehensively, who was setting each of the spell component items on the ground lovingly and tenderly.

"Raist, are you sure about this?" Caramon asked, although he already knew the answer. Raistlin, knowing he knew, didn't even bother to answer. Instead, he drew himself up and walked back the appropriate amount of paces.

"Before I begin, I must warn you," Raistlin said to Caramon softly. Caramon started at the concern in his brother's voice, finding him to suddenly be acting oddly. "First, you must not let anything touch me during the spell. I need to be in the front, here. The spell components will be protected on their own, I'm quite sure. Do not worry about them. Next, you may not disturb me in any way. Remember, concentration is very important to this spell. Finally..." He paused and looked hard in his brother's eyes. Caramon wished to look away, but the hourglass pupils held him tight. "Finally, no matter what happens, don't stop fighting until our enemy is defeated. No matter what!" Caramon, disturbed, nodded.

"Sure, Raist," he mumbled. "I understand." He looked at the approaching army, and cautioned, "You'd better get started."

Raistlin, nodding, did just that. He began to chant the Spell of Draconic Creation.

The spell: _Nasciturus onis, animalis aed squama. Adiutus necessarium. Copiola_ _daemon abyssa comminor excindo. Caeligenus tuto, deinde affor ambrosius. Immolo cor_ Raistlin! (Translation: Rise up, creatures of the scale. Your assistance is needed. The forces of evil and chaos threaten to destroy us. Be born of the heavenly will and protect us, as decreed by the gods that made you. Be born on the last breath of the spirit's sacrifice of Raistlin!)

As Raistlin chanted, the items layed before him began to tremble and glow, some pulsing with a strange light. However, at the end of the spell, the very first of the insects rushed to meet them. Caramon stood before Raistlin, fighting first against an entire army. Quickly, he was suffering from injuries, but was amazed to see the items growing, changing... And becoming.

In the middle of the forces of Takhisis and Chaos was born from the hopes and dreams of all innocent creatures on Seler – the pseudo-draconic guardians. Whereas Krynn had the metallic dragons of good, Seler had the pseudo-dragons. Rising up in the middle of the turmoil came the Cloud Dragon, Mercury Dragon, Mist Dragon, Faerie Dragon, and the Firedrakes. They roared and stretched, filled with the first spark of life and the knowledge of their task. Immediately, they began tearing into their surroundings with a ferocity that astounded the onlookers in Panthalas.

The Cloud Dragons, firing their icy breath, clouded the battlefield with their fogs. The Mercury Dragons, wings flashing brilliantly even in darkness, blinded the rear flanks with their bright, beams of light breath weapon. The Mist Dragons, staying mostly in their vapor form, would appear suddenly in an area where the insects were gaining an upper advantage, use their scalding water breaths, and turn back to vapor again. Faerie Dragons, keeping in a large group, were no larger than a butterfly. In fact, they bore the wings of butterflies. Giggling in their swarm, they used their breath weapons in a group to send many of the insects into a blissful state of euphoria. Those that did not succumb to the gas were visciously attacked by the swarm. The dragons did little damage individually, but as a group, were worse than a small storm of knives. Finally, the firedrakes looking much like baby red dragons, took the oddest approach to combat. Half of them flew in formations in the air, bombarding any of the aerial insects, while the other half waited to be attacked. When they bled, their blood burned terribly at the creature who had attacked.

Caramon watched all this in awe and disbelief. It was a few moments before he noticed Raistlin's prone, limp body at his feet. He dropped his sword, knelt next to his brother, and let the fighting rage on around them.


	17. Chapter XVII: The Battles Rage On

The kender squadron watched in some awe at the events folding out before them. Dragons of all types bloomed into existence before their eyes, tearing into the enemy forces. However, while there was an ample amount of dragons at their aide, the enemy force had the sheer numbers to give them an advantage still. Some dragons were beginning to be wounded as the slower thinking insects realized they could pick them off if attacking in groups. But the battle warred on, much to the general cheering of the city militia. That cheering was cut short, however, as it dawned on them that there were still insects escaping the dragons and that they had no intention of fighting back. They'd much rather come to attack the weaker prey.

The kender gripped their weapons and watched with a type of horrifying fascination as the oncoming wave hit the first ranks, then the second, third, and so forth. The group was at the very back, and so had time to watch the advancement. Tas's keen eyes began to note which of their enemy was what type of insect, despite the rain.

"That's it?" he replied cheerfully. "My, by the time anything reaches us it will be half dead and easily dealt with. I'm surprised that Takhisis is throwing such a weaker type at us." The kender seemed puzzled.

"You've fought them before?" asked Glavil, a touch of respect in his voice. Tas nodded, holding his weapon a bit tighter as the bugs started to crash nearer.

"Yeah," he replied. "They're not that hard to beat. Really, it's all about teamwork and finding the weak spots. Just follow my lead, and we'll be taking out these bugs left and right!"

The first to reach them was a beetle, scuttling along as arrows thunked its hard carapace and bounced off, and swords left nicks but hardly anymore damage. And as it rushed through the humans, tearing into them with sharp mandibles, it noticed the kender and charged. One has to wonder what was going through its mind as it charged at this group of kender, all standing and grinning in such a way you'd think they were at a theatre.

Probably the spear.

Tas dusted his hands off and walked over to the twitching body, quickly pulling the borrowed spear from just under the shell, where the creature's 'neck' would be. He winked at the group behind him and chuckled, "See? It's quite easy, if you can think fast enough. I'll instruct where to aim at the next bug"

* * *

Fianna and Cynda stared hard as the rain pounded down. Finally, with a few backwards glances at their superiors, they hopped off their step and ran into the rain.

"You're right, there is someone!" Fianna exclaimed, kneeling next to curled up bundle. "Paladine, bless me! It's a kender!"

"A winged kender," Cynda corrected, easing Dreamflight on to her back and propping her up. Dreamflight protested, but was not in much of a position to fight back. Instead, she doubled up with a moan. "It's a girl."

"A pregnant female winged kender," Fianna summarized, looking over Dreamflight the best she could in darkness and rain. "The poor thing. What should we do?"

"I don't see any injuries or blood," Cyani reported, with the lightest trace of disappointment. She hoped this wasn't just a case of sprained ankle they were dealing with. After all, it was a war.

"We should still bring her inside," Cyani argued. "She's in pain and needs treatment." Both kender looked back at the temple and hesitated. All the clerics, specifically the healing ones, would be very busy. Could they admit this kender? "Stay here, Fianna. I'll go get one of the other clerics." The other kender dashed out of sight, which didn't take much as the night was blacker than any that the two kender could remember. Fianna held the shivering kendermaiden in her arms.

"Say now, what's your name?" Fianna asked. "What's wrong with you?" Through chattering teeth, Dreamflight said her name and her problem. "Oh dear, you really should be in an Inn with a midwife, not in the rain. It's not going to be good for the baby."

"No midwife will deliver my child," Dreamflight scowled in uncharacteristic bitterness that surprised Fianna. "Only in the temple of my nephew will I seek the peace and refuge I need." Fianna hesitated and wondered more fully on what she was dealing with. It was often that kender had some sort of famous relative that they would brag about, but this was quite a stretch.

"Nephew?" she repeated, puzzled sounding. "I'm not quite sure what you mean. This is Paladine's temple, and you would have toâ€ beâ€ Ohhh my gods" Golden eyes, ablaze with pain and fury, glaring into her own, and Fianna almost shouted in astonished glee as power surged through the kender in her arms.

* * *

The kender fought bravely, taking out hordes of bugs that astounded their human comrades. Once it was realized that they were doing more damage to the enemy than themselves, the humans started letting the kender into their own ranks. As the dragons fought overhead, the soldiers pondered at the vast numbers that still came after them.

And through it all, the kender fought bravely. However, even they began to struggle under the task.

Tas fought off an ant and moth on his own – a hard task indeed. Not only did he have to dodge an attack the ant launched, he dare not breath in deeply the toxic dust created by the moth's wings. Not being used to a team attack without a partner and finding his lack of breathing uncomfortable, Tas was trying to find someone to call to for help. Caramon and Raistlin where nowhere near their battle, and his kender companions were scattered and in dire trouble on their own. Already he could see that Limbo had fallen, injured badly. That observation cost him as the ant smacked him aside in a blow that rattled his senses.

Laying dazed, Tas listen to the sounds of the battle, consisting mostly of screaming, clashing metal, and death cries. A gash on his forehead oozed blood into his eyes and he wiped it away as he heard screaming come form another kender – he recognized the pitch as Marwen.

A shadow fell over him. Looking up, all that Tas could see was a jumble of appendages and mandibles coming down on him. He blinked, rolled to the side, and felt around for his weapon. Instead, his hand came down to the crystalline vial that had fallen from his pouch. Tas lifted it to his face.

"I suppose this situation is rather dire," he murmured, rolling away from another attack. Acting quickly, he pulled off the cork stopper and swallowed the milky water without a second thought. The sweet tasting liquid spread through him and left a tingly feeling that he loosely associated with a drifting memory of flight.

"What should I wish for?" Tas asked himself aloud. The ant hissed.

"Wish forrr a quick end," it mocked. Tas stuck out his tongue, nearly biting it when he ducked suddenly. The moth was making passes at him again.

"I wish I was a dragon," he scowled before realizing what he said and looking around expectantly. Nothing happened. "It's broken!" The ant lunged again, trying to grab Tas by the midsection. Tas twisted away, suffering a long cut in his leg. He winced and tried to remember the instructions Dreamflight had given him on how to use the potion

* * *

Fianna stared at Dreamflight in awe, speechless as two human clerics came out to see what this distraction was.

"What is it, Cyani?" one cleric asked of the kender who led them. The other stood wit her hands on her hips, tapping a foot and trying not to get to wet. "This had better be important to disturb us at a time like this." Fianna looked up helplessly at the human clerics, for once struggling for the words to describe what was transpiring. Cyani cleared her throat.

"As you can see, she's in need of our help," she announced with an air of authority, pointing at Dreams. "She's to have a baby, and has requested our help. I think that as clerics, we're obliged to do so." The first cleric scowled as the other gave a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Send her away," the one decreed. "We have no time to play midwife to a kender. You two are going to be in trouble for disturbing us over such trivial matters."

"But-" Fianna began, but was cut off with a movement and the two human clerics walked away. She looked at Dreams.

Dreams wheezed painfully but kept a steady gaze with Fianna and Cyani. "You both are clerics on your on. Tend to me." The two kender exchanged glances – how could you refuse a goddess and fellow kender? Together, they helped Dreams off her feet and led her inside, out of the rain.

* * *

As the mandibles of the ant closed in to snap him in half, Tas had an epiphany.

"Believe she said!"

He shut his eyes, ignored the pain, and focused entirely on believe he was a dragon. So focused on this task, he didn't notice that Glavil had cut him free of the ant. Instead, he remembered angrily of all his friends being hurt and let that fuel his imagination. He believed he was growing bigger, gaining gleaming gold scales, a lashing tail, sharp talons and teeth, and a long sinewy neck. At the apex of his thoughts, Tas opened his mouth and roared – surprising himself back to reality.

His kender comrades, those that were conscious, appeared equally astonished. They crowded close to him, both for shelter and curiosity, touching and probing at what their friend had become. They had never seen a gold dragon, or one as majestic! Tas puffed his chest in pride and examined himself. It was just as he had imagined, though he was a very small dragon in comparison to those that he remembered. An insectoid screech reminded him of his current duty. With a sweep of his tail, he smashed the opposing ant to a fine paste. In a fluid motion, he snaked his head to duck the moth and raked it to ribbons upon his talons.

"This is great!" rumbled Tas. "No wonder dragons have such a royal air about themselves!" He could hear a high pitched squeaking below him (so that's what he sounded like to dragons?) and swung his head down to his friends' level.

"That was great!" Glavil cheered, holding his wife in his arms. "But we'd like to go to the healers and thought you might oblige to take us." Tas nodded, an act that made a slight wind current to the kender, and knelt as low as he could while all the kender piled on in one method or another. When he was certain they were all secure, he gave his new, strong legs a push and took to the air.

* * *

Dreams lay on Fianna's bed, the cleric holding her hand sympathetically, with little braziers burning merrily all around her. Cyani had decided she couldn't borrow the large braziers (they were too heavy) and so 'acquired' the miniature sacrificial braziers found in every healer's room. With all of them lit the three were warming up quickly.

Meanwhile, Dreams had gone into a trance-like state. Her mind was reaching far beyond her body, groping like a blind man for a helping hand. She found Mishakel.

"I am in pain," she thought. "It wasn't like this before."

"Be calm," Mishakel replied. "I am with you." Dreams was aware that the two kender aiding her were saying something, but she couldn't hear what. She couldn't even feel anything.

"I trust you," she thought. Mishakel smiled in her mind.

"I am with you now."


	18. Chapter XVIII: The Dream of Peace

Tas's flight was anything but smooth, and his landing was a far cry from graceful, but they all arrived in one piece. Gratefully, Tas lowered himself down to let the kender passengers off, and allow his wings to rest. He wasn't sure if you could bruise a dragon, but he was quite sure that if it were possible, his wings would have been covered in them.

He waited to see that all his comrades were accepted intot he temple before rising again. Majestically, he spread his sore wings, sending them flashing against the fires that had sprung up in the city. Adrenaline raced in his veins, and his spirit soared in the delight of all that was transpiring. …And then the dream ended.

His body stiffened and his sight went black. In a state of semi-consciousness, he felt his body return to its original state in a fashion that suddenly made him quite glad he had lost sight. Following this, he felt incredibly tired and was unable to open his eyes. His senses began shutting down, one by one. First, he couldn't smell the smoke, and then could not taste the ash. He couldn't feel the heat of the battle and fires pressing closer to the temple. And, as his hearing finally left him, Tas pondered if he had heard the wail of an infant.

* * *

Just as they had left him, Tas's senses gradually returned. He was awoken by the sound of moans, groans, and soft words of healers. Next to greet him was a terrible ache through his body, his back especially tender, and some cool compresses to ease over the burning in his leg. His mouth tasted slimy and dirty, and he reeled at the smell of sickness, blood, and bittersweet herbs. Tentatively, he opened his eyes. The brightness made him wince and he shut them again.

"He's awake," a familiar voice spoke. "Dear, fetch the others!" Tas only slid open his eyes a crack this time. Marwen leaned over him, all smiles and bandages.

"What happened?" Tas slurred, wrinkling his nose at the lethargy in his tongue. Seeing the others approach, he decided that a thick tongue and an aching head were minor wounds when held up against the injuries of his newest friends. Marwen had bandages around her head, a compress and bandages encircled Glavil's midsection, Limbo sported a crutch and a limp, while Zumbro wore his eye patch with pride. The kender crowded closer to tell what had transpired.

"Well, Limbo got bit in his foot pretty bad," Marwen explained. "It really was amazing to hear him swear in ten languages though!" Limbo, while not knowing what was being said, understood that he was the topic of some praise and smiled brightly. "My strong, brave husband took a heroic slash to defend me." She slipped an arm around his waist, eliciting a wince from him. "Zumbro got hit with a bit of flying glass and I got conked on the head." She smiled and rubbed the spot proudly. Tas glanced around, taking in all the people in his corner of what was a vast healing and resting room.

"How did I get here?" he asked, pleased to find his tongue and wits were reawakening. "I really don't remember much aside from changing back."

"Zumbro saw you lying out here and brought you inside to rest," answered Glavil. "Too bad that potion wasn't permanent, huh? At least you weren't hurt. All you had was the cuts from battle and a badly bruised back." Tas lay back, easily and slowly, and looked out of a nearby window. His mind was beginning to buzz with thoughts.

"Did we win?" he wondered. Big grins and enthusiastic nods answered him. He smiled and relaxed more. "Raistlin will be glad, and Paladine must be relieved." Some of the healers paused and looked at him strangely a moment. "But I think Dreamflight will be the gladdest..." His mind did a double take. "Dreamflight! The baby!"

A kender, clad in healing robes and bearing a medallion from Mishakal of the highest order, sat up from the chair she was dozing in.

"Ah, you're awake!" she exclaimed. "Good, good. I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever wake up. Mind you, that'd be quite the nuisance if you hadn't, so you can imagine my delight. Can you walk?" Tas blinked, first at the healer and then his legs.

"I think so," he drawled, wondering if it was possible to walk on rubber legs. The healer snatched his blanket from the bed and pulled on his hand.

"Great!" she replied. "I'll take you to the baby and the goddess. Pretty child, if you don't mind my saying. That one will grow up fine, I can tell!" Tas willed his body to action as he staggered behind the enthusiastic healer. "Really, I wish someone would have told me of this kender goddess! It's valuable for us to know. Now when the dwarves get all high and mighty... Well, maybe not high, but certainly mighty, about their god-"she was interrupted as the rest of the kender scrambled and hobbled in front of them.

"We want to come too!" protested Marwen. "We want to see Tas's baby!"

* * *

The room they were led to was quiet and dark, but very hot. Ashes still smoldered and embers glowed in the braziers. In the center of it all, Dreamflight lay under blankets, damp with sweat and fast asleep. Near another group of braziers was a makeshift cradle with a sleeping kender baby. Tas looked over the mess of the room at it, and beamed in pride. 

"What did she name her?" Tas asked. Fianna looked at him strangely.

"It's a boy," she corrected. "And his name is Firespice." Tas blinked, as he was sure that Dreamflight had specified a girl. Shrugging off the nagging insecurity, Tas held out his arms expectantly.

"Can I hold him?" Fianna nodded, and with utmost care, picked up the baby and laid it in his arms. Tas felt as though he were glowing.

"He's a demi-god, you know. I wonder if he has any special abilities. Maybe he'll be magical!" The other kender crowded around Tas to see, murmuring their approval.

"He's such a charmer," cooed Marwen, tickling under the baby's chin. "See, Glavil? We should have kids!" Glavil just grinned sheepishly.

"Firespice Burrfoot. Odd name, but I'll get used to it." Firespice opened his eyes and Tas pulled back in surprise. Blue eyes, flecked visibly with gold, blinked at him.

"Tas..." Dreamflight's voice bubbled up from whatever dream she was having. Cyanni sighed and clicked her tongue while rearranging the bed sheets.

"I've never seen such a hard birth for a kender," she sighed. "Usually it's so simple and easy, but this one had a very hard time of it. Must be in the blood." Dreamflight's eyes opened just a crack.

"Isn't he just beautiful?" she murmured. Tas squirmed past the braziers and sat on the side of the bed, leaning just so Dreamflight could watch the baby squirm in his arms. "I'm sorry it wasn't a girl... The past is unraveling... A new future is being forged faster than I can remember the old one." Tas smiled and pat her hand.

"It's fine. So long as he's a happy, healthy baby." Dreamflight smiled and nodded before shutting her eyes and drifting back to the blissful realm of sleep.

* * *

Rested and healed days later, Dreamflight was able to walk about with Tas and carry Firespice for a while. The breeze blew coldly, but bright sun compensated. 

"It'll be winter soon," Tas speculated. "I bet the leaves are falling off the Valenwood trees now... It must be very beautiful, like snow but more colorful." His voice began to creak a bit. "I bet Firespice would like to see. Maybe we could go visit... Some... Day..." Dreamflight paused and put her hand on her husband's shoulder. "He said he'd never forgive me." Tears sprang into Tas's eyes. "I didn't want Raistlin to die."

"No, Tas," she crooned comfortingly. "He's mad at me, and he'll overcome his grief. Raistlin never wanted to come back to this world, but I needed him. I needed his help, and I believe he resented me for it, a bit. That's why he was willing to cast a spell that costs him his soul. He's happily resting in the afterlife, now, waiting for when we return again. All of us. Caramon will get over his grief in time." She carefully wrapped her arms around Tas from behind, still giving room to the baby who hung from her stomach in his carrier. Firespice squealed with infantile wonder, taking tiny fistfuls of Tas's fur vest. Tas smiled, wrapping one arm around his wife and patting his son with the free hand.

"Takhisis won't bother us so much anymore," Dreamflight said, suddenly. "She'll have her hands full with the ware and Paladine. She can't expend massive forces just to look for two elusive kender." Tas seemed cheered by this news. "We can finally live in peace. Would you like to go back home? Show Firespice his grandparents..." Tas lifted his son out of the carrier and high over his head. "We can find our own home and settle down as a family."

"Take the kid on trips when he gets old enough," Tas added, getting wrapped up in the notion. "Yes, I'd like that. What about you, son?" Firespice just smiled.

* * *

The end of Book 2, in the Kender Goddess series. Read on in the next development and see the dramatic conclusion! 

Kender Goddess: The Chaotic Dream


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